Clear Braces After Tooth Loss

We provide many of our adult patients with clear braces as a discreet and convenient way to straighten crooked teeth. Clear braces are incredibly effective and work by applying pressure to your teeth in order to move them into position. Typically, our patients will wear clear aligners that surround the teeth like a full plastic retainer.

People wear these aligners for around two weeks at a time and each one in the series pushes the teeth that much closer to a straight position. While the patient needs to wear the aligners for around 22 hours a day, the aligners can come out to eat and brush teeth so they are incredibly convenient.

Are you looking for a teeth straightening solution?

If you have an interest in this solution or straightening your teeth, we encourage you to visit our office for a thorough examination and consultation. It is critical to address all areas of your oral health including what to do about the lost tooth or teeth. This may involve including your family dentist in these discussions as well so that we can establish a comprehensive treatment plan.

Missing teeth and teeth straightening

First, if that tooth was necessary and not the result of overcrowding, it will be critical to replace it so that you can continue to look the same, eat without restriction, and speak clearly. Second, your teeth perform the necessary duty of stimulating your jaw bone. Every time that you eat, pressure and stimulus end up on your jaw that signifies to the body it is performing its essential duty of supporting your teeth.

Once you lose a tooth or teeth the body is no longer getting that message. Since the body works to maximize all of the nutrients you have, it will begin to take calcium away from your jaw and put it in other areas that utilize it more frequently. This is the process of resorption that can change the appearance of your jaw and face. Your jawbone can shrink as a result of resorption, which will directly influence the position of all of your teeth and your orthodontic treatment.

In other words, you cannot simply ignore tooth loss, but must address and deal with it. This way, anything you are doing from an orthodontics perspective is as beneficial as possible, including wearing clear braces.

Dental implants are part of the solution

In many cases, our patients would like to have a tooth replaced with a dental implant. An implant is the only solution to tooth loss that is surgically placed and secured to the jawbone. The actual implant is a small titanium post that is inserted under the gums and secured to the jaw so that the body can begin to place bone around it. This is the process of osseointegration and it takes several months to complete.

Once complete, we can secure a new crown to an abutment that we attach to the implant so that you have a natural-looking and durable tooth. As a family dentist, we will need to create a plan for when this is all going to take place so that we can factor it into your overall orthodontic treatment.

Depending on the current position of your teeth and the tooth that you lose, we will work with your dentist to decide when is the best time for replacing the tooth in relation to wearing clear braces. To discuss these solutions further call Brooke M. Cloninger, D.D.S. and schedule a consultation.

Request a clear braces consultation here: https://brookemcloningerdds.com or call Brooke M. Cloninger, D.D.S. at (509) 319-2152 for an appointment in our Spokane dental office.