All About Prosthodontics

Artificial teeth – dentures, bridges and dental implants – are known medically as dental prostheses. And there’s a specialty in dentistry that focuses on these treatments – prosthodontics, from the Greek “prostho”, meaning replacement, and “dont”, which refers to teeth.

Why is this useful to know? The leading causes of tooth loss – tooth decay and gum disease – are common problems in the U.S. Fifty percent of people aged 20 to 64 have lost at least one tooth and one in six individuals aged 65 or over are missing all their teeth. So, you never know when you might need a prosthodontist. Prosthodontists like Metropolitan Prosthodontics in Plymouth MN also specialize in repairing damaged teeth, performing complex facial surgery, and providing cosmetic treatments.

In this post, you can learn all about prosthodontics:

• The difference between regular dentists and prosthodontists.
• How different dental prostheses work.
• Surgical procedures performed by prosthodontists.
• Types of aesthetic dentistry practiced by prosthodontists.
• When you might need a prosthodontist.

How Are Prosthodontists Different from General Dentists?

Around 200,000 general dentists are practicing in the States. There are only about 3,500 qualified prosthodontists. Although regular dentists extract and replace teeth as part of routine oral healthcare, their focus is more on preventive measures – dental exams and teeth cleaning to keep teeth healthy – and repairing teeth with procedures such as fillings. Some general dentists also get additional training in particular treatments. Prosthodontists, on the other hand, specialize in aesthetic replacement and restoration of teeth and ensuring oral health and functionality throughout the entire mouth. To do this requires extensive specialist training.

Specialized Training

After four years of studying at dental school, prosthodontists go through a further three years of specialized training through a program at a hospital or university, accredited by the American Dental Association (ADA). This graduate prosthodontic curriculum includes academic and clinical education in all aspects of dental health and restoration.

Official Recognition

Unlike regular dentists, prosthodontists are recognized by the ADA as experts in aesthetic restoration and replacement of teeth to achieve optimal appearance and oral functionality. Prosthetic dentistry is one of 12 dental specialties in the U.S. recognized by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards (NCRDSCB).

Types of Dental Prostheses

Regarded as the Father of Modern Dentistry, French surgeon Pierre Fauchard pioneered dental prosthetics during the early 18th century, with primitive surgical instruments and artificial teeth made from bone or ivory. Prosthodontics has come a long way since those early days, and prosthodontists continue to embrace new technologies and techniques such as CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and computer aided manufacturing) that take tooth repair and restoration to new levels. Prosthodontists use different technologies alongside their expertise to offer a variety of treatments to replace teeth and restore smiles with artificial teeth that look natural and attractive.

Dental prosthetics commonly used today include:

Dental Implants

If you have a missing tooth, jawbone will gradually waste away without the stimulus of a tooth root. Dental implants are unique in avoiding bone deterioration after tooth loss. They’re able to do this because the titanium component in the implant fuses with bone to form an artificial tooth root. Dental implants function, look and feel like natural teeth, and restore your smile while enabling you to speak and eat as normal. Implants are designed as a permanent solution to tooth loss and can last 20 to 30 years. Dental implants can replace a single tooth, several teeth, or all your teeth, and they have a success rate of up to 98 percent – the highest of any type of surgical implant.

Dentures

Thanks to technology, modern removable dentures are a vast improvement on those of yesteryear. They fit better, are more comfortable, and look more natural.

Types of dentures include:

• Full dentures – when all the upper or lower teeth are missing.
• Partial dentures – to replace one or several missing teeth in the upper or lower jaw.
• Implant-supported overdentures – a full denture anchored by implants to improve stability and functionality.

Our Plymouth prosthodontist, Dr. Christopher Sasik, has his own in-house dental lab to make customized dentures. Avoiding outsourcing denture fabrication streamlines the process and guarantees quality craftmanship and use of the best materials.

Dental Bridges

A dental bridge fills the space left when a single tooth or a few adjacent teeth have been lost. Bridges can be secured with dental crowns placed on teeth either side of the gap or by dental implants. A dental bridge addresses the aesthetic problem of an unsightly break in your smile while providing a more convenient option than a partial denture, which needs to be removed for cleaning.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Prosthodontists perform oral and maxillofacial surgery to treat injury, disease and abnormalities affecting the mouth, face, jaws and neck.

These procedures include:

• Corrective jaw surgery to reposition upper jaw, lower jaw, or chin, to correct irregularities.
• Cleft palate surgery to close a split in the roof of the mouth.
• Surgery to repair broken bones following facial injury.
• Biopsy to detect signs of oral cancer.
• Surgery to correct severe cases of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD).
• Surgical extraction of impacted wisdom teeth.

Outpatient oral and maxillofacial surgery can be performed with general anesthetic or local anesthesia with the option of dental sedation.

Cosmetic Procedures Performed by Prosthodontists

As well as replacing teeth, prosthodontics includes cosmetic dentistry to transform smiles with procedures such as:

• Dental crowns to enhance tooth color, shape and size.
• Veneers to conceal dental imperfections.
• Tooth bonding to enhance appearance of a chipped tooth.
• Composite fillings that look natural.
• Teeth whitening – more effective than over-the-counter whitening products.

Do I Need to See a Prosthodontist?

Now you know all about prosthodontics, you’re better placed to decide whether a general dentist or a prosthodontist would suit your oral health and aesthetic needs better. Prosthodontists are the recognized experts with advanced education and training in teeth replacement, restoration, and cosmetic enhancement. And they use state-of-the-art techniques and procedures to treat complex dental issues and restore optimal oral functionality and aesthetics. Metropolitan Prosthodontics in Plymouth provides personalized dental care of the highest standards and enjoys long-term relationships with its patients.

Call us at (763) 559-7600 or get in touch online to find out more about the advantages of seeing a prosthodontic specialist.