Veneers are dental materials used to cover the surface of teeth. It is a thin shell to conceal chipped teeth, discolored teeth, or disfigured ones, and crooked teeth as well. They have to be attached to the teeth to work. One cannot use it if they don’t even have their teeth base aka have a missing tooth.
It is normal to have one or more missing teeth. Missing teeth not only reduces the confidence in smiling but also creates different discomfort related to teeth and jaw. So considering replacing missing teeth is perfectly reasonable and they should do it at least to be in less pain.
You cannot get veneers with missing teeth. A tooth has to be there for veneers to work. It is placed over a tooth. A missing tooth does not have any base and is not even something that can attach veneers to it.
Suppose you bought tiles for your floor but you still have not built the foundation and have not used cement to shape it. You cannot possibly put the tiles on the soil and expect it to work. Veneers are also like that. Without a tooth surface, it has no value whatsoever.
What are veneers?
Veneers are custom-made thin dental material that is used to cover a tooth surface. Composite and dental porcelain are the main elements to make veneers. If you have a chipped tooth, veneers can transform it into its former state. To get veneers, the doctor removes a small amount of enamel from your teeth to make sure the veneers fit in them. He will make veneers matching your teeth’ size and proportions.
Our teeth are white, right? That’s because of dentin which is a hard tissue with white color. And Enamel is the outer layer after dentin. And Enamel is of no color like water. It is a see-through element that protects our teeth from decay. Our teeth are slightly slippery because of it. Since it is slippery, placing veneers on top of it seems like a failure. That’s why doctors remove a certain amount from the enamel surface to create friction on which veneers can cling onto.
Should I replace my missing tooth?
You may have or may haven’t seen a person who had one missing tooth and then it led to several missing teeth. Everything needs support. Just like a chair cannot stand still losing even one of its legs, your teeth also need support to stay healthy for a long time. A grown-up person has 32 teeth with 16 on each cage. When you lose one tooth, the other two teeth on both of its sides will lose their support on one side. As teeth are to stick together and give support to each other.
As a result, those other teeth will gradually loosen up and end up being discarded. This is how a missing tooth leads to several missing teeth. In some cases, their teeth get crooked and start decaying. Some people go through immense pain unable to move their jaw. When you bite or chew, the teeth beside the vacant spot of that tooth will be misaligned. Since teeth cannot move sideways, having a vacant spot makes them prone to move toward it. As a result, pain occurs.
Of course, you can leave it at it if your missing tooth is not visible and are not near your chewing area. Sometimes a missing tooth can change your pronunciation. Moreover, gum disease, bone loss, and jaw problems. So it is better to replace missing teeth if you can.
Treatment for missing teeth
The best way to replace your missing teeth is a dental implant. Every tooth is attached to the jawbone beneath them through a root. However, your missing tooth won’t have one. That’s why the doctors surgically place a root on the jaw bone and leave it for a few months for your jaw to fully accept it as its own. Once it is healed, a crown made by matching your missing teeth vacancy will be attached to the implant.
Many people use the dental bridge as dental implants do not seem approachable to everyone. The dental bridge consists of pontics (fake teeth) along with two crowns on each side of the missing teeth. Those two healthy teeth have to be shaved enough to wear that crown which helps place the fake teeth perfectly. It has one worst con which is you have to destroy your two perfectly healthy teeth. That’s why it is not recommended. To restore one tooth you may lose all three of them after a while.
