Prosthodontics /  Dental Prosthetics

Restoration of the best possible appearance of your smile

Teeth are as important as any other vital organ in our body. It plays a pivotal role in helping us perform day to day functions. Apart from chewing, teeth have additional significance in proper speech, phonetics, maintaining the bone levels of the upper and lower jaws and hence the aesthetics of the face. Early loss of teeth gives an aged appearance and poses a functional disturbance too. Ultimately it may even affect your lifestyle, causing a detrimental effect on your confidence and self-esteem.

What is the reason for teeth loss?

Loss of teeth can be due to one or more of the following reasons:

•  Chronic dental caries, which is beyond the scope of restoration and hence extracted.

•  Loosening of teeth due to gum problems and due to loss of bone support.

•  Injury to the teeth due to trauma, causing fracture of tooth structure and hence extracted.

•  A certain fraction of the population is born with missing teeth or defective teeth.

•  Wearing away of tooth surface due to habits such as frequent clenching and grinding of teeth.

Why replace teeth?

As mentioned earlier, it essential to maintain:

•  Proper chewing

•  Speech and phonetics

•  Facial Aesthetics

•  Maintain harmony among various critical facial structures.

So, who’s a Prosthodontist?

Prosthodontics or dental prosthetics is a specialty in dentistry which involves the diagnosis and treatment planning for rehabilitation and maintenance of the oral function, health, and aesthetics of patients having missing teeth, deficient teeth and compromised oral and maxillofacial tissues using artificial/biochemical substitutes.

A Prosthodontist is a professional who is committed to the replacement of missing teeth and maintenance of the teeth and the restoration in the best possible way, to enhance the appearance of a person’s smile.

What are the ways to replace missing teeth?

There is a broad spectrum of treatment options available for replacement of teeth. But the treatment can be planned only after careful consideration of specific factors such as:

•   The age of the patient: if you lose teeth at a very early age, then a long-term survival of the prosthesis would be expected and also a fixed form of replacement as aesthetics too will be a concern.

•   Systemic diseases: if you have diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, etc., careful analysis has to be done before undertaking surgical replacement techniques such as implants.

•   A condition of adjacent teeth and surrounding structures: a bridge prosthesis can be planned only if you have nearby sound teeth and good gum support. Lack of both may deviate to a different treatment aspect of providing removable prosthetics

•   The number of missing teeth: more the number of missing teeth, more intricate and complex treatment plan has to be done.

• After a well-done analysis of the options mentioned above, one or more of the following treatment can be planned. There are broadly two types of prosthetic methods
  

1.  Removable prosthesis such as complete dentures, partial dentures, etc.

2.  Fixed prosthetics such as crowns, bridges, dental implants, etc.

•  Crowns - used as an artificial cap over root canal treated teeth or on teeth which are sensitive due to severe wear and tear.

CROWN

•  Bridges- replacement of missing teeth using bridge support would essentially mean taking support from adjacent teeth and replacing the missing one.

BRIDGE PROSTHESIS

•  Dentures- they can be fixed or removable. It consists of a base made of plastic or metal in which teeth are attached. It can be used to replace single or multiple teeth or even all the teeth in the mouth.

COMPLETE DENTURE

•  Dental implant- the state of the art advancement in the field of dental prosthetics, is the implant. It is highly successful as it closely mimics the tooth structure (crown and root) and is highly efficient.

DENTAL IMPLANT

•  Veneers- Veneers are shell-like artificial teeth which are chiefly used to restore the front teeth, especially the front aspect which are seen when you smile.It is mainly used to correct mild discoloration in the front teeth.

DENTAL VENEERS

•  Full Mouth Rehabilitation- it involves one or more kinds of prosthetic treatment. It is the replacement of all the teeth in the mouth using multiple dental implants, crowns veneers or even using dentures. It is a highly recommended, most effective and efficient prosthesis.

FULL MOUTH REHABILITATION

•  Others: prosthetic management for cleft lip and palate, and even facial prosthesis are done.

Care for dental prosthesis:

It is of utmost importance to care for your dental prosthesis as you care for your natural teeth. Brush with keen attention mainly on the prosthetic area. Usage of an antibacterial mouthwash is mandatory and keep your mouth clean at all times by rinsing after every meal. Report for a regular dental checkup to your dentist to get your prosthesis examined.

The prime motto of every dental clinician is to save a natural tooth to the maximum extent because nothing can be as good as your natural teeth. At Malligai Dental Hospital we work towards giving you a near to natural replacement, of equal importance to your functional importance and a beautiful aesthetic smile.