Tag Archives: tooth loss

All Is Not Lost if You Lose a Tooth | Indianapolis Dentist

For most of us, losing a tooth can be a nerve-wracking experience. Not only do you have every reason to panic because you were likely in an accident of some sort, but there is no need to fret if you think your smile is doomed. Because hockey players may consider a lost tooth a badge of honor, but it is possible to re-implant a knocked-out adult tooth. A severed root experiences damage to blood vessels and tissue, but the ligaments connecting the tooth to the bone can be re-formed. The key to a successful reimplantation is how the missing tooth is stored and for how long.

Assuming you can find the tooth, avoid scraping off any dirt particles, as you risk damaging the root further. Instead, rinse it gently with a saline solution while carefully handling it by the crown. If possible, place the tooth back in its original socket, or store it in a small container with saline or milk. Milk – containing proteins, sugar, and antibacterial substances—provides the ideal environment for a lost tooth. As an added bonus, the sugars in milk help feed cells, which need to remain alive and growing in the short term.

Don’t have access to any of the above? Don’t panic. Your cheek will work well for storage in the interim; just be careful not to swallow your precious cargo.

Placing pressure on the gums will also help to reduce the bleeding and pain as you are en route to the dentist. Depending on the damage, a successful reimplanted tooth can heal significantly in three to four weeks and become fully repaired within two months.

Visit Dr. Kirtley today and schedule an appointment to maintain a healthy smile.  Call 317-841-1111 or www.smilesbygeorge.com.

Dr. George Kirtley proudly serves Indianapolis and all surrounding areas.

Why Are Dental Implants The Best Option For a Missing Tooth?

dental implants

Most people who’ve lost a tooth often consider dental implants as the last restorative dental treatment they’d opt for. It’s not uncommon for people to believe that they’re just worth the money and hassle, as the procedure is often believed to be “extremely risky”, on top of being expensive.

While it’s true that dental implants are expensive, they are most definitely worth the money and hassle.

Below are three good reasons to convince you why dental implants are the best option for a missing tooth:

  1. It looks and feel like your natural tooth.

As far as restorative dental treatment goes, the only thing better than a dental implant is your natural tooth. To be exact, a dental implant + prosthetic tooth is the only treatment capable of giving your teeth full functionality back again, as if you hadn’t lost a tooth at all.

Dental implants are titanium rods that are surgically inserted into your jaws. Once the jaw bones have had enough time to heal, it’s able to act like a tooth root, which helps strengthen your jaws and provide a stable and durable root for the prosthetic tooth.

Healing can take as much as 6 months, after which the dentist attaches a post to the implant, which is where the prosthetic tooth will be attached to.

  1. Your smile remains as beautiful as ever.

Because dental implants mimic the full functionality of your natural tooth, it’s also the best treatment of choice for maintaining the beauty of your smile.

Both the titanium implant and prosthetic tooth does wonders in helping maintain bite function, jaw bone density and even the health of the surrounding teeth. Just to remind you, failing to replace missing teeth will cause the surrounding teeth to try to twist and cover the gap, which will only lead to worse dental problems in the future. With dental implants, such problems can be avoided.

Even better is that the prosthetic tooth can be color-matched to the rest of your teeth so it will fit in seamlessly and give you back the beautiful smile that you’ve always had.

  1. It is a permanent solution to tooth loss.

While it is true that the prosthetic tooth can only look for a decade or so, the dental implants can go on much longer, forever even.

Also, because they are very durable, looking after a dental implant is not that big of a hassle. In a way, it not only is a permanent solution to tooth loss, but also a cost-effective long-term treatment at that.

To take proper care of dental implants, you only need to take good care of your teeth and gums, which isn’t really that hard. More so when you compare it to have to remove your dentures and using a soft brush to clean them carefully before putting them back in.

For more information on dental implants or to make an appointment, call Dr. George Kirtley at 317-841-1111 or visit the website www.smilesbygeorge.com.