Lost Teeth Because Of Chemo? What You Can Do To Restore Your Smile

If you have recently gone through chemotherapy as a part of your cancer treatment program, one of the unfortunate side effects that you may have experienced is the loss of all or some of your teeth. Chemo can weaken the body in numerous ways and while most people are prepared for the possibility of hair loss, tooth loss is another issue altogether. However, even if you were not prepared for the potential to lose your teeth from your cancer treatments, there are ways that you can deal with the situation that will help you get your smile back to looking fantastic. Get to know some of those options so you can schedule a dental appointment as soon as possible.

Dental Bridges

When you have lost one tooth or a few teeth in a row from your chemotherapy treatments, one of the easiest tooth replacement options is to have your dentist put in a dental bridge. Dental bridges are fixed tooth replacements that are attached to the teeth surrounding the gap. As such, this is only an option if the teeth you lost have teeth still in place on either side of them.

To create a dental bridge, your dentist will file down the teeth next to the gap to adhere the brace or anchor for the bridge. Then they will suspend the replacement teeth across the gap. This will leave a minimal gap between the replacement teeth and the gums. The dental bridge option is good if you do not want to have to put in and remove artificial teeth everyday and if you have healthy teeth to use as anchors for the bridge.

Full or Partial Dentures

If you have missing teeth that do not have healthy anchor teeth on either side or you have lost all or most of your teeth from your chemo, you may want to choose dentures rather than a dental bridge for your replacement teeth. Dentures can be made to be full sets of teeth or partial sets if you still have some healthy teeth.

Dentures are removable artificial teeth. The teeth are designed to look and function much like natural teeth. They are then adhered to a softer plastic material that is designed to comfortably fit the dentures around your gums. When your dentist begins the process of creating your dentures, they will take molds of your gum line to create dentures that fit snugly to your mouth. The soft material will be dyed and molded to match your gums for a more realistic and natural appearance as well.

Losing your teeth because of chemo does not mean that you need to go through the rest of your life with an imperfect smile. These options will help you to get your smile back as soon as possible. For more information, contact companies like Stillwater Dental Associates.


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