At Rathfarnham Dental Practice, our primary goal is prevention of dental disease and tooth loss. However, under circumstances such as trauma, uncontrolled tooth decay or gum disease, tooth loss may occur and we can provide multiple tooth replacement options.

Dental Implants are titanium replacement roots used to support a crown, bridge or denture. Titanium has a wonderful property which is that it can fuse to jaw bone and form a base for replacement teeth. The implant (root) is attached to a customised precision engineered metal post (abutment) and covered with a replacement tooth (crown). Titanium is very well tolerated by bone and in over 95% of cases osseo-integrates (fuses) with the bone tissue. They are very robust and have a long life expectancy. Read more…

Dental Crowns are not a tooth replacement but are used to protect damaged, cracked or broken down teeth. They act to strengthen your existing, damaged tooth by wrapping around the entire outer surface to hold it together. You may require a metal core and post beneath the crown to provide additional support to the crown if it has had root canal treatment.

Dental Bridges are used to replace one or more teeth. A replacement tooth or teeth (pontic) is cemented to neighbouring teeth, thereby creating a bridge. Different types of bridge are available attaching by means of either crowns or metal wings on the support (abutment) teeth. These are a good fixed, non-removable replacement option but the abutment teeth must be suitable for taking the load of the extra teeth and the necessary adjustments to the teeth can weaken them.

Dentures are a removable option to replace some or all of the teeth. They can be made with an acrylic palate or a more streamlined cobalt-chromium alloy palate with different combinations of metal attachments. Complete dentures replace all the teeth and can be anchored with implants.

Everybody is different in their tooth replacement needs so every treatment plan option can only be arrived at after individual assessment. The tooth replacement options described here typically require a number of appointments with your dentist, and possibly referral to a specialist. During your consultation, we will assess your case and tailor a treatment plan to your needs.

Replacement teeth require meticulous at home care. We recommend that afterwards you have regular routine dental check-ups and visit our hygienist for regular cleaning and specific advice on maintaining your new smile.