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Home|Blog / Treating Multiple Missing Teeth with Dental Implants

What are the dental implant treatment options if people have multiple missing teeth or multiple teeth that need to be replaced?

So let’s first let’s talk about a case where a patient is missing all their teeth. The first step is to establish the patient’s bite, so we make dentures for them, and I have them try those dentures just to make sure they’re comfortable. We need to confirm there is no pain in the jaw, no ear pain, as well as to confirm their chewing and swallowing is fine as well. Afterwards we can use those dentures as a guide to line up a patient’s dental implants.

Previously, surgeons would put in dental implants where the bone was, but the problem with that is for the restorative dentist, it becomes a challenge if the dental implant is going one way and the crown needs to go another way. If you have a plan in advance, where you’re going from the restorative to the implant layer, you have much better chance for success.

So for treating multiple missing teeth, you could have anywhere from two to six implants per arch, to have a very nice C shaped full arch appliance. You could have a single implant and a single crown for each missing tooth, or another option is for us to have two to four implants for long span dental bridges, which look exactly like teeth and they’re beautiful.

And of course for budget considerations, the lower the number of implants, the lower the total cost of the case.

If I personally was was missing many teeth, and I had enough bone, and I was healthy and had the resources, I would want to replace every single tooth with an implant. But we understand that this doesn’t apply to all patient cases, so in some cases we do two implants and a denture so the denture doesn’t rock or move. Two dental implants represent the bare minimum needed, as you cannot do any less than two, in order to have implant supported dentures, or what we also refer to as ‘over dentures.’

If you are considering dental implants for multiple teeth, the first step is to schedule a consultation to discuss your case with Dr. Mazhari in our Alexandria dentist office. Contact us at (703) 212-9622 or request an appointment online.