Getting Personal with Prosthodontics

If you are one of those scratching your head with all the confusing dental terminologies, then you are not alone. With dental health slowly taking its rightful place in the limelight, quite a number of fancy-named treatments and procedures are also floating in the market. This blog aims to clear the confusion and strip down popular dental terms into their most basic form.

Prosthodontics is perhaps one of the least understood branches of dentistry. Beside its more popular cousins, talking about it in casual conversation would definitely result to either a blank stare or a raised eyebrow.

Prosthodontics is quite simply a field of dentistry that specializes on the restoration and replacement of natural teeth. You would probably say that cosmetic dentists do that too but contrary to popular belief, cosmetic dentistry is not even a recognized field of dentistry. If it boils down to anything, cosmetic dentistry is all about improving the aesthetics of human teeth, but not their function.

That is where the difference between a cosmetic dentist and a prosthodontist lies. Prosthodontists not only improve the appearance of the teeth by restoring and replacing missing teeth, they also help improve their function. It is also a requirement for prosthodontists to spend an additional three to four years of further education to focus on their specialization.

So why do you need to replace missing teeth? It is important to note that missing teeth impact your appearance in a big way. The space created between missing teeth can cause a shift in the alignment that results to your teeth tilting. The tilt destabilizes the remaining teeth, making them prone to future damage and loss of your remaining teeth. When this happens, eating becomes more difficult as the rest of the teeth have to bear the brunt of the pressure. Also, since the teeth support the facial muscle, gaps can easily cause you to look years older as your facial structure changes drastically.

With such great impact on both your health and your appearance, would you be comfortable letting someone without professional training work on your teeth? Browse our website and learn more.