Your teeth affect your whole body. When they’re healthy, you’re healthier too. A missing tooth can affect your bite, speech, and eating choices. As you rely more on your remaining teeth, you increase the chance they will wear out prematurely, sustain damage, or be susceptible to losing them completely. You may also experience headaches and/or jaw pain.
Luckily, our practice offers many excellent options to replace your missing teeth — from temporary to long-lasting solutions. During your consultation with one of our oral surgeons, your personal preferences, the current condition of your oral health, and other factors will all be carefully considered to determine the right tooth restoration option for you. You can learn about many of the tooth replacement options below.
If you have questions or are ready to schedule your consultation with Dr. Morgan, Dr. N. Morio, or Dr. W. Morio, please contact our Hiawatha, IA, office. We look forward to meeting with you to discuss your best options for restoring your smile!
Dental Implants
Dental implants are the most comfortable and permanent solution for restoring missing or failing teeth. They form a strong foundation for your replacement teeth and keep the jaw healthy and strong by stimulating the bone in your jaw just like natural teeth. Implants can support individual replacement teeth or secure specialized dentures to replace multiple teeth or even an entire arch of teeth. Unlike bridges, no healthy teeth are damaged to secure the restoration, and implants can last a lifetime if proper care is taken. Implant-supported replacement teeth are an extremely lifelike, stable, and comfortable solution for almost any patient.
We perform dental implant placement in our office. Read our page on Dental Implants to learn more.
Full-Arch Replacement/Teeth-in-a-Day™
If you require replacements for an entire upper or lower arch of teeth, you may be a candidate for a full-arch replacement using a revolutionary treatment called Teeth-in-a-Day. During your consultation with one of our experienced oral surgeons, you and your doctor will decide if Teeth-in-a-Day is the right option for you.
Why should I choose Teeth-in-a-Day?
Full-arch restoration using the Teeth-in-a-Day treatment is a truly life-changing alternative to traditional removable dentures. This treatment replaces a full upper or lower arch of teeth in one procedure and is, therefore, more cost-effective and efficient than using multiple individual implants — yet patients still benefit from the permanency and health benefits of having individual dental implants. And with a significantly reduced healing time, Teeth-in-a-Day allows you to enjoy your new smile much faster.
This dental implant-based surgery is a favorite for many reasons:
- Less post-surgical discomfort, swelling, and a reduced healing time
- Permanent, non-removable replacement for multiple teeth
- Fully functional new teeth in one procedure
- Prevents bone loss and preserves your oral health
Teeth-in-a-Day offers a full-arch of new teeth that are custom designed for your mouth and will look and function just like natural teeth. In most cases, you will receive a temporary set of teeth the day of your procedure, and while you heal, your final set will be customized by your restorative dentist.
We perform the Teeth-in-a-Day procedure in our office. You can learn more about this tooth replacement option on our Teeth-in-a-Day page.
Bridges
A bridge is a common solution for replacing one or more teeth that are next to each other. Bridges are cemented into position on top of the teeth that are next to the area of tooth loss. For this tooth restoration option, your dentist will reshape or grind down the teeth surrounding your missing teeth to prepare for the bridge. Your dentist will place the bridge over the re-shaped teeth. This is a cost-effective way to restore missing teeth, but the bridge will require replacement after several years of wear.
Full or Partial Dentures
Dentures are the most common solution for people missing all of their teeth in one or both jaws. Your family dentist will fit you with traditional dentures, and the process is generally quick and easy. If your dentist discovers that your mouth/jaw is not a good size or shape to accommodate a denture comfortably or securely, you may be referred to a trusted oral surgeon for a procedure called pre-prosthetic surgery to prepare your mouth for a better-fitting denture. This is a type of oral surgery that reshapes the bony ridge under your gums so that your dentures are more comfortable and stay in place when you eat and smile.
Our practice offers pre-prosthetic surgery procedures. You can learn more about this treatment on our Pre-Prosthetic Surgery page.
Flipper/Metal Partial
A flipper is a temporary tooth replacement solution that consists of a plastic tooth with a plastic retainer. A metal partial is a removable partial denture made of metal and plastic.