The earliest evidence of the use of dentures dates back to around 2500 BC when those affected substituted animal teeth to replace those lost due to trauma or decay. Around a millennium later, the Ancient Egyptians introduced the practice of stringing animal teeth together with gold wire to create a more sophisticated type of denture as a tooth replacement solution.
However, despite the ingenuity of their designers, these solutions would have proved temporary at best and were also likely to have been pretty uncomfortable in most cases. The first dentures to resemble those in use today appeared in the late 18th century and were fashioned from porcelain, a much more robust and whiter-looking material than the ivory favoured prior to its introduction.
This article will now examine and compare the main options for those with missing teeth in the twenty-first century.
Modern Tooth Replacement Options
The growth of dental services and a greater awareness of the importance of oral hygiene and its role in maintaining general health have had a positive impact. However, dealing with tooth loss remains one of the main challenges facing dentists today. Fortunately, technology has provided various solutions, allowing them to select that which will best suit a given patient’s needs from the following options:
- Dentures: New materials have made dentures a far more comfortable option than in the past. Furthermore, intraoral scanning has eliminated the need to submit patients to the discomfort of making conventional impressions. Instead, a dentist can use the scanned images and CAM/CAD software to create a precisely fitting partial or full-arch denture with a 3D printer or automated milling machine on the spot.
- Dental Bridges: When it is only necessary to replace a few missing teeth, dental bridges offer a fixed tooth replacement alternative to a removable denture. These non-removable prostheses are held in place by a metal “bridge” concealed behind them and anchored to the healthy teeth on either side. Bridgework offers a more natural look and feel than a denture and can be cleaned and flossed in situ like a genuine tooth.
- Dental Implants: The first successful attempt at tooth replacement with a permanent implant occurred in 1965 and lasted 40 years, the remainder of the patient’s life. Today, dental implants have gained widespread popularity as a more natural-looking and durable alternative to dentures and dental bridges.
However, it is not only aesthetics and durability that have made dental implants the twenty-first-century tooth replacement solution of choice. Inserting the titanium post required to support the crown into the jawbone acts like a natural tooth root. The presence of the post prevents the body from naturally resorbing bone from any area of the jawbone that lacks an embedded root. Bone resorption inevitably leads to removable dentures becoming progressively looser and more ill-fitting.
The Best Tooth Replacement Options for You in Gauteng
Dr Ivan Marx is an acknowledged South African leader in the field of dental prosthetics, offering all the solutions described above from a choice of surgeries in Pretoria and Johannesburg, each equipped with state-of-the-art dental technology. If you think you might need dentures, dental bridges, or dental implants, we invite you to book a free virtual consultation to learn more.