Options for missing tooth?

Question

I've been wearing a retainer for 4+ years now because I have a missing tooth and its embarrassing to not have it in but having it in is almost as embarrassing now that I'm almost 20 years old. I'm a smoker so I'd have to quit to get a bridge but that will not happen. I would get an implant but my dentist says the teeth next to the missing one would be killed if an implant is put in.

So what are my options besides quitting smoking? I've seen things that look like retainers without the metal wire in the front and have the fake tooth on them. What is this called?

Answer 1

I have never heard you have to quit smoking to get  a tooth replaced.  The options are implant, bridge and partial.  Sure if you smoke then your natural teeth will pick up stain that the bridge will not pick up, but you can still smoke if you want to...none of my smoking patients ever quit for a bridge.  LOL.

Answer 2

First of all, unless the teeth that are next to the missing tooth are abnormally close, there is no way an implant would "kill" the other teeth.  I would recommend seeing an oral surgeon to see if they recommend an implant in that area.

Seeing that you are only 20 years old, an implant is your best option.  A bridge would require filing down the teeth on either side of the missing tooth and putting crowns on those teeth.  Eventually those teeth will be lost and you will also lose bone in the area of the missing tooth.

The implant might cost more to begin with, but it is a life long fix, unlike a bridge or a flipper (which is basically what you have now with your retainer).

You don't have to quit smoking to get an implant, but it is recommended for at least the first five days to help the implant fuse with the bone (as well as your lifelong health).

Good luck.

Answer 3

My husband has a missing tooth, and he had 3 options from the dentist- partial denture, a bridge, and... I don't remember  the third.

BTW, he did stop smoking, but not just for the new tooth!