Missing teeth? Don't miss out on a beautiful smile: implants, bridges and dentures can restore how you eat, speak and look. Whether you've lost teeth to decay, injury or gum disease, or your remaining teeth are stained, broken or crooked, there is hope. This guide explains your options at Southern York Smile Care in Shrewsbury.
Why Replacing a Missing Tooth Matters
A gap in your smile affects more than how you look. When a tooth is lost, the teeth around it can drift or tip into the space. The tooth above or below can slowly push out of its socket. Your bite can change, and food can get trapped in new places, raising the risk of decay and gum disease.
The jawbone changes too. Tooth roots stimulate the bone every time you chew. Without that, the bone in the area slowly shrinks. When several teeth are missing, this can make the face look sunken and older. Our article on replacing missing back teeth explains these changes in more detail.
Many people also feel self-conscious. They smile with their lips closed, avoid photos or cover their mouths when they laugh. Replacing missing teeth can bring back the confidence to smile freely.
Save Your Natural Teeth When You Can
Whatever the problem, keeping your natural teeth is usually the best first choice. A tooth with a large cavity may be saved with a filling or crown. An infected tooth may be saved with a root canal. Teeth that look bad but are healthy underneath can often be improved with cosmetic treatment.
When a tooth truly can't be saved, or has already been lost, there are several good ways to replace it. Dr. Steven Haywood will explain which options fit your mouth, your goals and your budget.
Your Options for a Complete Smile
Porcelain Veneers for Teeth You Want to Keep
If you still have your teeth but don't like how they look, porcelain veneers may be the answer. Veneers are very thin shells bonded to the front of your teeth. They can change the color, size and shape of teeth that are healthy underneath but stained, chipped, uneven or slightly crooked.
Veneers resist stains and reflect light much like natural enamel. In some cases, prepless veneers can be placed with little or no change to your natural teeth. Dr. Haywood trained in cosmetic dentistry through the NYU Aesthetic Continuum, and every case is planned to look natural on your face.
Dental Implants: The Closest Thing to a Natural Tooth
A dental implant replaces both the root and the visible part of a tooth. It has three parts:
- The implant, a small titanium post placed in the jawbone, where it fuses with the bone and acts like a root.
- The abutment, a connector that attaches to the implant.
- The restoration, which may be a single crown, a bridge or a full denture.
Implants are often the best long-term choice because they look natural, chew like real teeth, don't rely on neighboring teeth and help protect the jawbone from shrinking. For a single missing tooth, see single tooth implants. For a front tooth, where appearance matters most, see front tooth implants.
Dr. Haywood is a Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. Implants are planned with Green CT 3D cone beam imaging, so the bone and nearby nerves can be seen clearly before treatment. Learn more on the dental implants page.
Dental Bridges
A bridge fills a gap by joining a false tooth to crowns on the teeth on either side. It's fixed in place, so it doesn't come out. Bridges work well when the neighboring teeth already need crowns. If the neighboring teeth are healthy, an implant may be a better choice, since it doesn't require shaping those teeth. For several missing teeth in a row, an implant bridge anchors the bridge to implants instead of natural teeth. Learn more on the dental bridges page.
Dentures and Implant-Supported Options
Dentures are custom-made replacement teeth. A partial denture replaces a few teeth and clips onto your remaining teeth. A full denture replaces all the teeth on the upper or lower jaw. Sometimes all remaining teeth need to be removed and a full denture made.
Modern dentistry offers many ways to combine dentures with implants for a much better fit:
- Snap-on implant teeth click onto a few implants, so the denture stays put while you eat and talk, but can still be removed to clean.
- All-on-4 dental implants hold a full fixed arch of teeth on four implants. They stay in your mouth and feel much like natural teeth.
Read 5 things you need to know about dentures or visit the dentures page to compare.
How to Choose the Right Option
Every option has trade-offs. A few questions help narrow down the right one for you:
- How many teeth are missing, and where? One missing front tooth calls for a different plan than several missing back teeth.
- How healthy are your remaining teeth and gums? Any gum disease or decay should be treated first. See gum disease treatments.
- How much bone is there? Implants need enough bone to anchor in. If bone has been lost, bone grafting may help.
- Do you want something fixed or removable? Some people prefer teeth that never come out. Others are happy with a denture they can take out to clean.
- What's your budget and timeline? Some options are quicker or less costly up front; others last longer.
Your dentist will walk you through each of these at your consultation, using digital X-rays and 3D imaging to show you what's going on.
Caring for Replacement Teeth
Whichever option you choose, good care helps it last. Brush twice a day, clean between your teeth and around any implants or bridges, and keep your checkups. Dentures should be cleaned daily and taken out at night unless your dentist tells you otherwise. Regular visits let your dentist check the fit and catch small problems early.
Bringing It All Together
Many smiles need more than one treatment. One person may need an implant for a missing tooth, whitening for stained teeth and veneers for chipped front teeth. A complete smile makeover combines treatments into one plan. If you'd like to see a preview first, ask about cosmetic imaging.
Southern York Smile Care is out of network with every insurer: you pay at the visit and the office files the claim for reimbursement. CareCredit and Cherry payment plans are available, and Kelley Fisher, the Patient Care and Treatment Coordinator, can help you plan. See the financing page.
Schedule a Consultation in Shrewsbury
There's no need to miss out on a beautiful smile. Call Southern York Smile Care at (717) 235-3871 or request an appointment. The office is at 4 S. Main St in Shrewsbury and welcomes patients from York, southern York County and northern Baltimore County.
DDS cum laude 1987, US Air Force residency, NYU cosmetic training and Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, with 35+ years in practice.
Meet Dr. Haywood →
Spotlight-ready Smiles From Southern York Smile Care
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Coronation: Dental Crowns in Shrewsbury PA