MDNews - Minnesota

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Q MY DAUGHTER WAS BORN WITHOUT TWO FRONT TEETH. HER DENTIST WANTS TO MAKE A REMOVABLE PARTIAL, BUT WE ALSO DON'T LIKE THE SHAPE OF HER OTHER FRONT TEETH. IS THERE A BETTER OPTION TO ADDRESS BOTH THE MISSING TEETH AND THE AESTHETICS? Hypodontia is the condition in which the patient is missing teeth as a result of the failure for those teeth to develop (agenesis). About 3.5–6.5 percent of the adult population in North America has missing teeth in the permanent denti- tion. The most common missing tooth in the permanent dentition is the lower second premolar (3 percent) followed by the upper lateral incisor (2 percent). Most patients with missing permanent teeth require orthodontic treatment to align the teeth and provide uniform spacing so that the missing teeth can be replaced by prosthetic means. Treatment options for replacing the miss- ing permanent teeth include removable partial dentures, fixed bridges or dental implant restorations. Removable partial dentures are a conservative option in that they do not require reduction of permanent tooth structure, but because they cover so much tooth structure for retention it can increase the risk of decay. Fixed bridges offer a very esthetic option, but require the removal of tooth structure on the adjacent teeth. This option is considered when a patient is not a candidate for dental implants due to a paucity of bone, or if they don't want bone grafting to increase the volume of bone in those sites. The lifespan of fixed bridges is highly variable and is dependent on the patient's dedication to oral hygiene around the teeth that the bridges are attached to prevent recurrent decay. Dental implant restorations offer the best long-term prognosis because they are single unit restorations and are not connected to the teeth. If a patient needs adjacent teeth modified for esthetics, single unit restorations can also be made for those individual teeth. Since teeth are not connected as in fixed bridges, the oral hygiene is much easier and compliance rate is higher. For a d dit ion a l inf or m at ion , v i s it cit y west pros.com or call D r. Hecker at 952-941-4672. ■ Prosthodontic Insights By Donna Hecker, DDS, MS A: Donna Hecker, DDS, MS, City West Prosthodontics Before After After, full smile 1 2 | Minnesota MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M

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