Prosthetics involves expert teamwork, advanced technology, strong aesthetic sense and, most importantly, foresight in predicting how long the restoration will last. This is why we take this area of dentistry with the utmost responsibility.
The molar was reinforced with a ceramic overlay following root canal treatment.
Prosthetic dentistry refers to a highly precise restoration of teeth that is carried out after the loss of teeth or to strengthen and preserve worn, heavily filled or dead natural teeth for longer. With this treatment, chewing function, aesthetics and clear pronunciation of sounds (phonetics) are restored. The method of restoring your teeth is individually tailored to your needs with the aim of preserving the health of your teeth and your natural-looking smile. Prosthetics is the final stage of dental treatment and is only performed after surgical, periodontal, therapeutic or orthodontic treatment. This is how stable and long-lasting restoration results can be ensured.
To restore worn, heavily filled, dead, darkened teeth, fillings, ceramic inlays, overlays, veneers or crowns are used. In all cases, we make every effort to preserve as much of the natural tooth as possible. The most suitable restoration method is tailored to each individual case after having discussed its pros and cons with the patient.
When one, several or all of the teeth are missing, treatment is provided by means of prosthetic devices, which are either removable (implants, dental bridges) or removable (veneers, arch dentures). These methods restore chewing function, smile aesthetics, clear pronunciation of sounds and provide different conditions for daily dental care.
When one tooth is missing, it can be replaced by a threaded implant on which an artificial crown is subsequently fixed. An alternative solution is a dental bridge. However, in this case, the adjacent teeth are polished and the interdental cleaning becomes more difficult as the teeth are connected together. Connecting the teeth into a bridge may be a rational solution if the teeth are dead, severely decayed and need to be restored in any case.
When most or all of the teeth are missing, two solutions are available: implantation and the fabrication of a removable denture. The most cost-effective, but in all respects the most uncomfortable and, therefore, the one that requires the longest adaptation after the restoration of the lost teeth, is the removable denture. The prosthetic technique is selected individually for each patient depending on their current oral condition, preferences and possibilities.
Missing teeth may be left unrestored if the remaining teeth are sufficient for food chewing, clear speech and good looks.
Technically, it is almost always possible to restore teeth, however, this largely depends on the patient’s financial means. Today, there is no reliable scientific evidence to suggest that it is necessary to have thirty-two or twenty-eight teeth all your life. How many teeth does a person need? This is a very individual question. Therefore, the first thing to do is to ask the patient how many teeth they should have in order to chew food properly, to pronounce sounds clearly and to look good. Answers vary greatly. We all have very different needs, yet there are common patterns. First of all, it depends on age. Older patients indicate that twenty teeth in a row, without gaps, facing each other (ten in each jaw) are sufficient for them. Interestingly, children also have 20 primary teeth and do not complain about the lack of teeth. But let’s consider what it means to have 20 teeth, i.e. no molars, just front teeth and canines. That is certainly enough to crush food and speak clearly (quite a few older patients say that even fewer than 20 are enough for them), though not everybody will enjoy the fact that the end of the teeth row, i.e. the black gaps at the corners of the mouth, will be visible when speaking or smiling. This means that for the sake of aesthetics and good looks, at least one more molar tooth is needed. That said, most people consider that the minimum number of teeth to meet the needs of chewing, sound pronunciation and aesthetics is twenty-four (with teeth on each side of the jaw up to and including the first molar). One way to restore all the missing teeth is the All-on-4 technique.
Prosthetics is among the most complex areas in dentistry, and we have been specialising in it for more than 25 years. We always aim to preserve your natural, own teeth. That is why we only offer this treatment when your teeth are severely decayed, dead, heavily filled or just the roots remain. Prosthetics does more than just restore the beauty of your smile: we focus on restoring comfortable chewing and dental occlusion as well as preventing masticatory muscle and joint diseases.
Gedas Mockaitis
Dentist
During the appointment, we find out your expectations and carefully assess your oral health condition. If necessary, we take dental and panoramic X-rays or CT scans. Based on the obtained results, we draw up a prosthetic dental treatment plan.
Prior to prosthetic treatment, we prepare your teeth as needed: we perform professional teeth cleaning, treat decayed teeth, replace leaky fillings, treat periodontitis, and carry out implant placement.
Depending on the situation, we create a smile prototype either digitally or from wax, which is then transferred onto your teeth by means of a special material. Apart from making it possible for you to assess the appearance of your future smile in advance, this service also gives you the opportunity to adjust it according to your preferences.
Based on the approved smile model, dental technologists with extensive experience fabricate permanent restorations in the laboratory that are close to natural teeth in shape, colour and functionality. A wide range of materials certified in the European Union are used for the fabrication of prostheses.
The restorations fabricated in the laboratory are fixed on natural teeth with special cement and on implants with screws.
Dentist-Orthopaedic Surgeon
The doctor specialises in dental implants, surgical preparation of the mouth for prosthetics, applies advanced endodontic microsurgery methods, and treats periodontal pathology in a complex manner. He gives presentations and holds seminars on dental prosthetics and implantology on a regular basis He is a co-author of the publication Periodontal Diseases: Prosthetic and Orthodontic Treatment of Periodontal Patients.
Dentist
The doctor specialises in aesthetic and functional dental prosthetics and implant placement. He constantly improves his skills at Lithuanian and foreign scientific conferences and seminars.
Dentist
The doctor specialises in aesthetic dental and implant prosthetics. She restores smiles with all types of ceramic laminates, micro prostheses and full crowns. She constantly improves her skills at Lithuanian and foreign scientific conferences and seminars, and is a member of the International Digital Smile Design (DSD) society.
Modern technology enables the fabrication of dental prostheses that are close to the natural tooth in colour, shape and functionality. The most aesthetic appearance is achieved with non-removable dental prostheses: crowns, bridges, laminates, overlays, inlays and implant-supported restorations. However, today removable dental prostheses also look natural enough, allowing you to smile with confidence.
The lifespan of dental prostheses depends both on the individually tailored prosthetic technique used and on the diligence of your daily care and the frequency of your professional teeth cleaning. With responsible care, fixed prostheses may last for decades, whereas removable prostheses may need to be renewed every 3 to 5 years.
To make sure dental restorations last as long as possible, we introduce you to the proper care of teeth that have been restored with dental protheses, which is no different from the care of natural teeth: it is important to use a regular toothbrush, a single-tooth and interdental brushes every day, as well as a special interdental floss and undergo professional teeth cleaning on a regular basis.
