How Many Teeth Are Needed for a Partial Denture?

How Many Teeth Are Needed for a Partial Denture?

Jul 20, 2022

You might not notice the differences in how your teeth behave when you miss one or more teeth to change your chewing and biting. However, you will feel that your surrounding teeth are getting closer to the missing tooth gap changing your bite and speech. You might have heard about dental implants, bridges, or even a partial denture but weren’t sure whether you can get a removable partial for a single missing tooth.

As time progresses, you decide the time has arrived to call your dental prosthetist to determine what options are available to cover the missing teeth gap to overcome the challenges you confront. You might express surprise after meeting the dental professional who might express surprise at why you didn’t call them earlier to prevent the obstacles you encounter and close the gap between your teeth as soon as possible.

Is It Possible to Create a Partial Denture for One Missing Tooth?

Undoubtedly if you miss one or more teeth, the two most familiar options to replace them are dental implants and partial dentures. Whether you prefer a dental implant or a single tooth removable option, it is always imperative to seek advice from a qualified professional to help replace the missing tooth. The two options have different benefits associated with their treatment, and the eligibility can vary between patients hanging on their overall health and the state of their remaining teeth.

Partial dentures are a relatively inexpensive solution if you miss one or more teeth and desire to get your smile back. Patients, regardless of age, can have removable partial dentures created to fill the edentulous gap left by the missing tooth. You can have partial dentures fitted sooner without needing surgery like dental implants making it an ideal solution for patients of all ages. Furthermore, removable partial dentures can help replace at least three consecutively missing teeth making it a suitable option for everyone.

You can select different types of partial dentures, including cast metal, all acrylic, and flexible partials. However, if you are unaware of which option best suits your needs, you receive help from your dental prosthetist to decide when looking at the different options available.

Dental implants are considered the gold standard if you want a permanent solution to the missing teeth because they function, feel, and appear like your natural teeth. However, dental implants require a healthy jawbone besides excellent overall health and surgery. If you don’t have an adequate jawbone, you might need bone grafting surgery to delay replacement teeth by six months or more. The treatment time and the prices for dental implants vary between patients but give you a permanent solution for the missing tooth to restore full functionality of your teeth and mouth.

Even as dental implants remain the best option for replacing teeth, dental prosthetist’s often recommend removable partials for one or two missing teeth if the health of your remaining teeth makes extractions a possibility later.

What Happens If You Ignore Replacing Missing Teeth?

You might think having gaps between your teeth after extractions don’t matter so long as you are not concerned about them. However, are you aware that the missing tooth affects you more than it affects others? If not, we suggest you understand the consequences of losing one or two teeth and not replacing them.

Some patients might not experience any differences after missing teeth, but others may quickly develop severe issues due to the edentulous gaps between them. Fortunately, the severe problems are conveniently and easily prevented by getting removable partials to close the gap between the teeth.

Your teeth have a purpose in functioning together because they work together to help you bite, chew, and maintain the alignment of your teeth. A missing tooth can affect your quality of life by going through several potential changes.

Your Natural Teeth Start Drifting

Without a temporary or permanent replacement like a removable partial or an implant, the remaining teeth in your mouth start drifting towards the empty spaces, leaving you with crooked teeth and new gaps between your other teeth.

Besides the above, you also confront problems with biting and chewing besides your speech because you start talking with a lisp and become a victim of indigestion from swallowing large chunks of food to need help from different medical professionals. Therefore if you want to avoid the consequences of missing a couple of teeth, you must consider getting replacement options like partial dentures soon after losing or getting the teeth extracted.

Can You Get a Partial with No Back Teeth?

If you don’t have back teeth, your dentist will likely not recommend removable partials because the replacement solution doesn’t have neighboring teeth to clasp onto. In such cases, you benefit by getting a dental implant that provides adequate support to the posterior teeth because they are embedded deep into your jawbone to give you a lifelong replacement for your missing teeth.

If you have a couple of missing teeth in your mouth’s posterior or anterior region, getting them replaced as soon as possible becomes necessary. If you visit Town Square Dental for the replacements, the dental team will happily guide you through different treatment options available to ensure they provide freedom from the challenges you confront. Therefore please schedule a meeting with this dental practice to have your missing teeth replaced with removable partials or implants.

Click to listen highlighted text!