A person’s dental self-perception, personal aesthetics, and the basic activities that they do every day, such as eating and speaking, all have a common thread that influences each of these factors: their teeth. In a situation where a patient was to lose their teeth, a considerable financial problem arises, such as the potential prosthetic replacement.
The obvious choice is getting dental implants or other advanced treatments, which can be costly. However, several cheap options for missing teeth at your disposal can most effectively restore your smile and dental self-perception.
The following blog post will comprehensively explore each of the available budget-friendly options in clinics. We will equip you with options that work perfectly for your dental situation without breaking the bank.
The Impact of Missing Teeth
Before we get into the many budget-friendly options we’ve laid down for you, we must first develop a good contextual understanding of the consequences that people with missing teeth face. Even if we disregard aesthetics, missing teeth have a quite serious tendency to lead to several oral health issues, including:
Shifting of Adjacent Teeth: If your teeth are missing, they can also put a strain on and adversely affect the other intact teeth. The gap that the missing teeth leave can cause nearby teeth to shift, which means that a severe misalignment might occur.
Bone Loss: The loss of teeth can cause a cascading level of the tooth that faces degradation and bone loss. The jawbone may also start to deteriorate or decay when faced with the lack of stimulation previously provided by a tooth root, adversely affecting the overall structure of your face, which is an undesirable outcome. However, there are certain measures one can take to make up for bone loss, such as bone grafting procedures or sinus lifts in the case of dental implants.
Gum Disease and Decay: There is a high chance that the gaps left behind by the missing teeth can become places requiring utmost attention because of the bacteria that can now accumulate and make their home there, posing yet another risk factor that can give rise to gum disease and tooth decay.
Cheap Options For Missing Teeth
In this section of the blog, let’s unpack the budget-friendly treatment options we mentioned before now that we have fostered a contextual understanding of the consequences of missing teeth or edentulism.
Partial Dentures
One of the first cheap options for missing teeth that we will explain here will be partial dentures; you can think of them as artificial devices for your mouth that can be removed if you want, with a specific design objective: to replace one or several missing teeth. The visual of partial dentures goes like this: the artificial teeth will be attached to a base with the same colour as the gum and held to the foundation with metal clasps that attach to your natural teeth that remain.
They are generally much cheaper than implants or bridges as no surgery is required, making them suitable for those with medical conditions that preclude surgical procedures and can be easily modified if you lose additional teeth in the future.
Removable Dentures
If you’re dealing with missing all their teeth in the upper or lower jaw, full removable dentures is another one of the cheap options for missing teeth available in clinics. These dentures, of course, can be removed by the patient for cleaning and maintenance whenever needed. They consist of a finished set of prosthetic teeth that are then attached to an acrylic base that can easily fit over the gums.
These dentures are one of the most well-known cheap options for missing teeth. They are made by a team of technicians who customize them to fit your mouth, making sure that you experience comfort and functionality. They have an improved appearance and function as modern dentures look natural and can greatly upgrade your ability to chew and speak.
Dental Bridges
A dental bridge can be thought of as an appliance that is fixed and used to replace one or more missing teeth. The procedure has to do with the placement of crowns on the adjacent teeth and attaching an artificial tooth to fill in the vacuum left behind. There are different types of dental bridges:
Traditional Bridges involve creating crowns for the teeth on either side of the gap and attaching a pontic (artificial tooth) in between.
Cantilever Bridges: Used when adjacent teeth are on a single side of the missing tooth or teeth.
Maryland Bridges involve a framework made out of porcelain or metal that is bonded to the back of the adjacent teeth.
Resin-Bonded Bridges (Maryland Bridges)
We can’t talk about cheap options for missing teeth without bringing up this procedure: the resin-bonded bridge. It is a prosthetic device that uses an artificial, placed-holder tooth with wings on either side that are bonded securely to the adjacent teeth using resin. The treatment method is way less invasive as it requires minimal amounts of alteration to the real, adjacent teeth.
In terms of the cost of Maryland bridges, you will find that they are way less expensive than traditional bridges and implants, and they can safely preserve natural teeth as minimal preparation of the adjacent natural teeth is required for the procedure. Speaking of procedure, the Maryland bridge has a quick procedure as the bonding process is relatively fast, often done within a single visit.
Temporary or Immediate Dentures
Temporary dentures, also called immediate dentures by many, are placed immediately after the period of tooth extraction that may have taken place before, as per the consultation. They serve as placeholder prosthetic devices that can work with natural teeth while your gums are healing until a more permanent, final solution can be implemented, which can last you for decades. These dentures have several advantages that they offer:
Immediate Restoration: There is no need for someone who deals with edentulism to go even one more day without teeth while they wait for permanent dentures or other solutions in the coming months of their treatment process.
Affordable Interim Solution: If you’ve opted for this solution, you will reap the absolute benefits of one of the cheap options for missing teeth that can maintain the function and appearance of your teeth while they’re healing.
Adjustable Fit: Due to the process that your teeth are undergoing, the gums will, of course, heal and change shape; the temporary dentures can be a good fit that can also be adjusted for comfort if the need arises.
Flexible Dentures
Flexible dentures are made from a pliable and soft material that also offers an alternative to traditional, wonky and unreliable dentures. Although not as effective as dental implants, these can prove particularly suitable for patients who find their old, traditional dentures uncomfortable and want a better solution.
The flexible dentures can wrap around and adapt to the specific shape of your gums; this adaptation means a reduction of irritation and pressure points in the gum; they also are considerably less likely to break or face damage when compared to acrylic, which is rigid.
Conclusion
This blog deals with offering cheaper options for individuals who are facing edentulism or missing teeth. We first contextualized the problem by discussing its impact on people who experience it, and then, in the end, we provided many budget-friendly options that are available in clinics.
If you are seeking a more personalized dental health assessment by a professional who is experienced in dental reconstruction, feel free to visit or contact Bay Area Implant Dentistry, a premier clinic in Fremont, California.