Options for Missing Teeth

When you’re missing one or more teeth, there are many options for making your smile complete again. Whether you choose removable prosthetics or permanent replacement teeth, Dr. Okamoto ensures you are fully informed about which appliances are available to meet your needs. 

If you’re visiting our office for restorative treatment, consider the following benefits for the teeth replacement options available to you:

Removable Prosthetics

These appliances are not cemented in place and do not require surgical procedures. Removable teeth are usually a cost-effective treatment that is minimally invasive and popular among patients looking for the quickest solution available.

• Partials – Patients with sporadic tooth loss or a single missing tooth can choose partial dentures. Replacement teeth are attached to a plastic or metal framework, which hooks around existing teeth. Partials typically should be removed before meals but they can effectively create the appearance of a full smile.
• Full Dentures – When all teeth in one or both arches are gone, full dentures are the go-to treatment for many patients. Dentures are made of acrylic and tooth-colored materials to re-create a natural-looking smile. These dentures can be worn all day to aid in clear speech and improved biting and chewing.

Note: As these restorations are not permanent, and often rely on surrounding structures for support, patients may experience changes to facial aesthetic caused by bone loss. Removable appliances can also loosen through the day and require adjustment to ensure the best fit.

Fixed Teeth

If you’re looking for the most reliable forms of tooth replacement, prosthetics that are cemented or interact directly with bone are the longest-lasting treatments available. Your choice of bridges or implants will depend on budget and preferences, as well as how many teeth are missing.

• Bridges – Among traditional dental restorations, bridges are some of the most durable teeth replacements.  A bridge typically consists of a fake tooth with two dental crowns on either side. The crowns are placed over pre-treated teeth surrounding the gap caused by loss or extraction. Bridges are then bonded in place and can be expected to last for decades.
• Implant-Supported Restorations – When a permanent implant supports your dental restoration, you benefit from the best aesthetics, health, and comfort. Implant posts prevent jaw bone loss and naturally integrate with surrounding tissue, so your new tooth looks and feels real. Implants can last an entire lifetime with the proper care.

If you’re missing an entire arch of teeth, a dental bridge cannot restore your smile, unless it is supported by implant posts. Dental implants are the gold standard for tooth replacement but do require a longer healing period and initial surgical treatment to add posts.

Questions about Tooth Replacement? Ask our Dental Specialist!

As a prosthodontist, Dr. Steven Okamoto is skilled at helping patients find the teeth replacement option that meets their expectations and needs. With help from our general and cosmetic dentist, Dr. Michelle Okamoto, we ensure your procedure improves your appearance and is as comfortable as possible. Call or visit our office for details about choices for replacing teeth!

Surgical vs. Non-Surgical Gum Disease Treatment

Your teeth and gums harbor bacteria that are typically disrupted and removed with daily brushing and flossing. When not properly cleaned, however, bacteria cause soft tissue infection, plaque and calculus buildup, and decay of tooth structures. Treatments for periodontal disease vary from non-invasive to surgical, and each has their own benefits to oral health.

Dr. Okamoto provides non-surgical gum treatments to patients with mild to moderate signs of gum problems and help patients understand when more extensive care may be necessary.

Non-surgical Treatments

These procedures do not involve incisions into gums or the removal of tissue. Rather, they focus on leaving gums and teeth intact and promote recovery after initial signs of infection. Dr. Okamoto treats existing issues and staves off further infection with deep cleaning procedures and the use of antibiotics.

The most common non-surgical treatment for periodontal disease is a comprehensive cleaning that targets the area below the gum line. In this procedure, bacteria are removed and the teeth are made clean and smooth, so bacteria cannot easily adhere to tooth roots. After receiving this treatment, many patients will require continued maintenance to keep the gums infection-free. This deep cleaning process may be used before surgical treatments as a preparatory procedure.

For continued gum health, patients cane recommended periodontal trays with beneficial medication. These custom trays, much like the ones used for teeth whitening, deliver antibiotics and other medicines. They are made to fit snugly on the teeth and let the medicine seep into gums to fight off bacteria. Used in conjunction with other non-surgical treatments, this is one way patients can support in-office care with at-home hygiene.

When are Surgical Treatments Necessary?

In some severe cases, periodontal disease affected bone and caused significant tissue recession, requiring more comprehensive treatment. In these cases, care of your smile may be referred to a gum specialist. Some procedures restore the smile after gums and teeth have been damaged by gum disease include:.

Pocket Reduction – Your dentist will gently pull gum tissue away from the tooth, cleaning its surface and beneath. The goal is to reduce the size of the periodontal pocket that has allowed food to get trapped and bacteria to grow.

Gum and Bone Grafting – When gingival decay has reduced the support of gums or bone, a synthetic or natural tissue can be used to cover exposed roots. This can reduce sensitivity, improve an uneven smile, and restore confidence in your oral health.

Dental Prosthetics – If teeth are lost due to advanced periodontitis, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a full smile again. Dental implants are biocompatible and fuse to the bone, providing a strong foundation for a personalized dental restoration. Crowns, bridges, and dentures are all supported by this innovative procedure.  If you’ve been affected by serious periodontal disease and are looking for restorations, Dr. Okamoto is a prosthodontic specialist and provides prosthetic teeth to restore oral health and function.

Contact Dr. Okamoto Today for Periodontal Treatment and Restoration

We are here to help you enjoy a healthier smile for a lifetime. If you have symptoms of periodontal disease, or are experience significant oral discomfort, call us today for information on gum disease treatment for dental rejuvenation with prosthetics.

Replacing Failing Teeth

While experiencing total tooth failure is less common as oral health education, use of fluoride, and improved dental services that are readily available, it’s still an issue that patients face. Tooth failure is problematic and troublesome, but it can be corrected with better understanding of why it happened and what treatments are available to solve loss of function and overall health.

Why Do Teeth Fail?

It’s possible to experience dental problems due to genetic predisposition to poor soft tissue health and weak, demineralized teeth – or even a naturally unbalanced bite that was never corrected, which created broken and damaged teeth. However, teeth most often fail due to a prolonged history of dental problems, poor oral health practices, diet and lifestyle choices, and even unskilled or infrequent dental care.

Patients who see their teeth fail in their 40s and 50s are often those who started having dental problems early, with frequent and poorly provided fillings, or unnecessary capping of teeth. Over the years, these patients may have experienced repeat root canals and have a patchwork of prosthetics that have become worn and ineffective after a number of years.

Teeth can also fail if oral hygiene isn’t practiced regularly. This includes dental checkups as well as thorough at-home brushing and flossing. Patients who do not practice diligent dental care and make poor diet choices, including overconsumption of acid causing foods and utilizing tobacco, will quickly notice more frequent instances of decay and gum recession.

Unfortunately, teeth can also become damaged beyond repair with treatment from dentists who do not invest in patient wellness, take the time to get to know their needs, or practice conservative treatment methods. Inexperienced dentists who make mistakes during fillings or crown preparation, those who do not properly seal crowns and bridges, or even practitioners who provide unnecessary restorations can all contribute to the ultimate failure and extraction of affected teeth.

Treatment for Total Tooth Loss

In the hands of a qualified and experienced dentist, regaining your oral health and restoring all lost teeth in an arch is possible. As a skilled provider of dental implants and multiple surgical processes involved in the implant treatment process, patients at Dr. Okamoto’s Torrance dental office benefit from full smile restoration with varying numbers of dental implants, implant-supported dentures, and All on 4. Patients interested in these treatment plans can expect all phases of care to be completed at our practice, including extraction of failing teeth, bone grafting, implant placement, and restoration of implants with natural-looking prosthetics.

Don’t trust care of your smile to anyone other than an experienced professional. If you’re dealing with severely broken, decayed, and failing teeth, call Drs. Okamoto to ask our implant treatment options.

Dentures Options and Care Tips

For edentulous patients (those who have lost all natural teeth), dentures are still the go-to procedure for restoring the appearance of a healthy smile and the function delivered by strong teeth. However, modern dental techniques allow Drs. Steven and Michelle Okamoto to customize treatment to meet your expectations.

If you are in need of dentures to restore your smile, consider the following treatment options and how you can keep your smile healthy with your new teeth:

Traditional or Fixed Dentures?

Dental implants are touted as a revolutionary way to replace teeth, and they do provide significant benefits, but some patients are simply uninterested or do not wish to complete the surgical component of implant treatment. For many patients, removable traditional dentures serve them well, while others may struggle with their prosthetics.  Take the following into consideration when choosing which teeth replacement option will provide best comfort and function:

Missing all Teeth in a Top Arch – Though traditional dentures are held in place with temporary adhesive only, denture patients often have more success with upper dentures. With these top prosthetics, there is a component that covers the palate and helps to keep replacement teeth stable through creating suction. Though some patients find this portion of the denture to restrict taste, it’s an important part of keeping teeth in place and providing for a higher success rate.

Bottom Dentures- Comprehensive tooth loss on the bottom jaw arch tends to be the most problematic. While removable dentures can be used here as well, patients often report more issues with these replacement teeth, as there is less suction to hold them in place.  Because of this, and because bottom dentures are an important part of supporting chewing function, they often slip and slide out of place or become loose after consistent wear and use. For those patients, just a few dental implants can create the comfort and stability needed to ensure that their smile is functional and feels more natural.

Taking Care of your New Teeth

It’s important to remove your dentures each night and soak them while you sleep, so that they do not become dry and do not trap bacteria and debris that can cause bad breath. It’s also suggested that you brush your dentures with a soft bristled tooth brush before you soak them to keep them as clean as possible.  Be careful not to use toothpaste when cleaning your dentures and not to damage them by using a brush with bristles that are too hard.

If your denture is removable, but held in place with implants, you can follow the same care steps as listed above. If you’ve selected to receive dentures that are permanently affixed and removable only at our dental office, you will need to be diligent about cleaning under your prosthetic with a device like a waterpik.

Undecided about which denture treatment best fits your needs? Contact our Torrance prosthodontist for more information about removable and fixed dentures.

The Benefits of Cosmetic Dentistry with Prosthodontics

There are several ways to improve the appearance of teeth without the use of prosthetics (replacement teeth), such as whitening, adding tooth-colored composite material, or manually shaping teeth so they appear more even and balanced.

However, dental prosthetics are particularly effective at giving you a brand new smile and boosting your oral health in the event that you have complex dental needs. In many cases, cosmetic dental treatment with prosthodontics is essential in targeting problems areas and helping patients achieve the look they want. At the Torrance, CA dental office of Drs. Steven and Michele Okamoto, we are skilled in cosmetically and functionally restoring smiles with prosthetics.

What are Dental Prosthetics?

A dental prosthetic is intended to replace a natural tooth, tissue, or part of tooth enamel and can include crowns, bridges, and veneers.  As a Prosthodontist, one of the nine dental specialties recognized by the ADA, Dr. Steven Okamoto has the expertise to restore teeth for ideal cosmetic effect using any number of dental prosthesis.

Prosthodontics and Cosmetic Dentistry

Dental prosthetics help effectively target cosmetic dental problems that include:

Damaged Teeth – Decayed or broken dental enamel can be removed and replaced with a beautiful porcelain dental crown, or even a veneer, depending on your needs and the extent of damage to teeth, so that your smile looks healthy.

Misshapen Teeth – Teeth that are too-small or that are jagged or pointed stand out in your smile for the wrong reasons. By shaping teeth and applying a natural-looking prosthetic, like a veneer, problem teeth can become a seamless compliment to the rest of your smile.

Missing Teeth – A missing tooth in your smile poses significant cosmetic and functional issues, but patients have many options for treatment with the help of prosthetics. Choices like partial dentures, fixed bridges, and dental implants can all replace missing teeth and give the effect of a cosmetically beautiful smile.

Smile restorations with prosthetics help patients achieve stunning smiles and renewed oral health, especially in the event that your needs are complex. At Steven K. Okamoto, DDS, Inc., we can give your smile a cosmetic boost with a number of effective and long-lasting prosthetics, such as porcelain crowns, veneers, fixed dental bridges, and implant-supported replacement teeth.

For more information on cosmetic restorations with prosthetics, contact our office for your consultation.

Why You May Need a Bone Graft before Dental Implant Surgery

Dental implants provide an ideal solution to missing teeth. With implants, patients get new teeth that behave and look like natural teeth, from roots to crown. However, in order for implants to be strong and improve your oral health, some pre-treatments may be necessary. It’s not uncommon for patients to require a bone graft before implants can be placed. Here’s why:

Prolonged Lack of Natural Teeth

When you’re missing teeth for an extended period of time, jaw bone density in that area will begin to lessen. Your natural tooth roots simulate bone health, but when they’re gone, bone slowly grows weaker. Bone grafts help to build up quality bone in this area, so implants can be placed at the site of missing teeth and act as sturdy anchors for prosthetics like crowns, bridges and dentures.

Stronger Osseointegration

Implants are as strong as they are because bone is naturally compatible with titanium, the material from which implants posts are created. When implants are placed, the posts begin to bond and merge with bone, just like a real tooth. If you have poor bone quality, or thin bone density, there is less supporting tissue for implants to bond with. Bone grafts are sometimes necessary to ensure proper integration.

Longevity of Treatment Results

Implants placed accurately into dense bone, and which are allowed to integrate properly, prove to be long-lasting replacements for missing teeth. With a bone graft, implant dentistry can support life-long and high-functioning replacements for lost or extracted teeth.

Only a dentist can determine if a bone graft is necessary before you can receive dental implants. At our Torrance dental office, Dr. Okamoto performs comprehensive exams to ensure that your smile is healthy enough for dental implants. If a bone graft is necessary, we have an on-site surgical suite and can perform your pre-implant bone graft in our office. Contact Dr. Steven Okamoto for more information about how bone grafting benefits successful implant treatment.