{"id":42322,"date":"2019-03-06T07:53:42","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T12:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=42322"},"modified":"2019-03-06T07:53:46","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T12:53:46","slug":"when-a-tooth-cant-be-repaired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=42322","title":{"rendered":"When a tooth can’t be repaired"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Stephanie McGann<\/strong>,\u00a0DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sometimes it just can\u2019t be fixed.\u00a0 In today\u2019s modern age of dentistry the \u201csave it no matter what\u201d attitude has been replaced by a more measured response.\u00a0 Sometimes it makes more sense to remove a tooth and place an implant than to do tons of work to \u201csave\u201d an already compromised tooth.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of reasons to replace a lost or missing tooth. It\u2019s a questions dentists are asked every day. There are a lot of reasons. One of the most common reasons, especially in the front of the mouth is aesthetics. \u00a0Very few people are OK with walking around with a missing front tooth.\u00a0 But a good looking smile is only part of the story.<\/p>\n

Teeth are lost for a number of reasons. Sometimes tooth decay progresses to the point where a tooth can no longer be fixed.\u00a0 In those cases the tooth is removed to prevent pain and infection.\u00a0 By replacing the tooth we can minimize the loss of bone in that area and prevent the remaining teeth from shifting into a poor bite.\u00a0 Teeth have a purpose they are used for eating, communicating and smiling.\u00a0 Without teeth we may not be able to adequately chew and subsequently digest food appropriately.\u00a0 Missing several teeth may alter speech. Making it hard to pronounce certain words properly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>An unfilled space may cause teeth to grow into that space leading to a bad bite, possible issues with the jaw joint, sensitivity, looseness or tenderness.\u00a0 Esthetically this may cause teeth to shift and look \u201ccrooked\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another reason to replace missing teeth is the tendency to have bone resorb if there is not biting forces being applied to it.\u00a0 This bone resorption can be minimized with the placement of an implanted tooth.\u00a0 The more the bone resorbs the\u00a0 more it can affect chewing or even appearance.\u00a0 Long time denture wearers sometimes develop a \u201csunken-in\u201d appearance from the lost of alveolar (tooth supporting) bone.<\/p>\n

Today teeth can be replaced quickly and easily with dental implants, fixed bridgework or conventional removable appliances. Your dentist can show you what options would work for your specific needs.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to remember than leaving that space may cause problems over time.<\/p>\n

Dr. Stephanie McGann, who has more than two decades of dental practice experience, is a resident of the Unionville area and owns and practices at Rainbow Valley Dental, in Valley. She is a past President of the Chester\/Delaware Dental Society and she is a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Stephanie McGann,\u00a0DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times Sometimes it just can\u2019t be fixed.\u00a0 In today\u2019s modern age of dentistry the \u201csave it no matter what\u201d attitude has been replaced by a more measured response.\u00a0 Sometimes it makes more sense to remove a tooth and place an implant than to do tons of work to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[245],"tags":[611,7426,610],"class_list":["post-42322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-dentistry","tag-featured","tag-health-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42322"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42323,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42322\/revisions\/42323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}