Missing Teeth

Lower back teeth and upper front teeth are the most commonly congenitally missing teeth. Every day in our practice, we see patients who are born without a particular tooth or teeth. Furthermore, the top front teeth are most susceptible to trauma and therefore, are knocked out or broken beyond repair. If you or your child is missing a tooth or teeth for any reason,  multidisciplinary treatment by an orthodontist, restorative dentist, periodontist, or oral surgeon is the state-of-the-art treatment.

Braces (and sometimes Invisalign®) are used to position the remaining teeth optimally to create the ideal space to replace the missing teeth. At the end of orthodontic treatment, a restorative dentist will usually implant a "flipper” or a removable, lightweight partial denture that is used as a temporary replacement for one or more missing teeth. A “Maryland bridge,” or a prosthetic tooth, can also be implanted for the intermediate term during adolescent growth and development. Finally, an implant is placed for permanent replacement at age 18-21. See our patient images below for reference.