The Gap That’s Been There Too Long — and What We Can Do About It This Summer

If you’ve been missing a tooth for a year or more, you already know what it feels like to adjust around it. You’ve developed habits: chewing on the other side, smiling in a slightly controlled way, hesitating before biting into something hard. The gap is familiar by now. It doesn’t feel urgent the way a toothache does.

What we want Wauwatosa patients to understand is that while the gap may feel stable, the biology underneath it is not. The moment a tooth root disappears — through extraction, decay, or injury — the jawbone that supported it begins to resorb. That process is ongoing, quiet, and cumulative. The longer a gap goes unfilled, the more bone is lost, and bone loss makes future implant placement progressively more complex.

At Wauwatosa Family Dental on West North Avenue, our team provides comprehensive dental implant treatment from the evaluation through the final crown — all in one place, without the coordination burden of separate referrals to specialists. Our prosthodontist, Dr. Matt French, completed his DDS at the University of Iowa in 2013, then a hospital-based residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and then a three-year prosthodontics residency — making him one of the most rigorously trained restorative implant dentists in the Milwaukee and Wauwatosa area. He also lectures on implant complications, management, and maintenance, which means the depth of knowledge he brings to your case reflects both clinical experience and a genuine academic engagement with this procedure. Our full team supports every stage of implant treatment with the same philosophy: clear communication, modern technology, and care that moves at your pace.

Why Dental Implants Are the Comprehensive Solution

An implant is not simply a replacement tooth. It is a replacement for the entire tooth system — root and crown — which makes it the only restorative option that addresses both the visible gap and the underlying bone loss.

The titanium post placed into the jawbone undergoes osseointegration: a natural bonding process by which the bone fuses with the implant surface over three to six months. Once integrated, the implant functions as an artificial root — transmitting the chewing forces that signal the bone to maintain its density. Bone resorption stops. The neighboring teeth have no space to drift into. The bite remains stable.

The crown placed on the integrated implant is custom-fabricated to match the color, shape, and size of the surrounding natural teeth. It is cleaned exactly like a natural tooth — brushing, flossing, and regular professional cleanings. There are no adhesives, no removal for soaking overnight, no adjustments for shifts in the underlying tissue over time.

This is what separates implants from the alternatives. A dental bridge replaces the visible tooth but requires reshaping the healthy teeth on either side to support it, and does nothing to halt the bone loss beneath the gap. A removable partial denture restores some function but is exactly that — removable, with the limitations that come with relying on clasps and gum tissue for retention. Neither option addresses the root-function deficit at the core of tooth loss.

The Process at Wauwatosa Family Dental

We begin with a thorough evaluation using our digital imaging technology, including the three-dimensional imaging that maps bone volume and density at the proposed implant site. This tells us immediately whether placement can proceed directly or whether bone grafting will be needed first — a realistic finding for patients who have been missing a tooth for an extended period.

The placement appointment involves inserting the titanium post into the prepared site, typically under local anesthesia. We offer sedation options for patients who prefer additional comfort. Most patients return to normal daily activity within a day or two, with soreness that is manageable with over-the-counter pain relief.

The osseointegration period of three to six months is largely uneventful for the patient — healing proceeds, the post bonds with the bone, and we monitor progress at check-in appointments. Once integration is confirmed, we fabricate and place the final crown, at which point the process is complete.

Why June Is the Right Time to Start

Summer scheduling in Wauwatosa tends to be more flexible than the fall and winter months — fewer school and activity commitments, more room in the calendar for appointments. For patients who’ve been meaning to address a missing tooth, summer is the window where good intentions actually get scheduled.

A patient who begins the implant process in June is positioned to have the final crown placed by late fall or early winter, entering the holiday season and the new year with a complete smile and fully restored bite function.

We also want patients to know that we work with most major insurance plans and offer flexible payment options through CareCredit, Proceed Financing, and Cherry — so the financial side of implant treatment doesn’t have to be a barrier to getting started.

What About Multiple Missing Teeth?

The implant conversation doesn’t have to be limited to a single tooth. For patients who are missing several teeth, implant-supported bridges provide the same root-function restoration across multiple sites using fewer implants than individual replacements would require — typically one implant on each end of the gap, with a bridge spanning the space between.

For patients who have lost most or all of their teeth, or who are currently relying on removable dentures that shift during eating or speaking, All-on-4 implants offer a full-arch restoration supported by just four strategically placed implants. The result is a complete, fixed set of teeth that doesn’t come out, doesn’t require adhesive, and restores normal biting force. Dr. French’s prosthodontic training specifically encompasses complex, full-arch restorative cases — the level of planning and technical execution these cases require is built into his specialty.

We’d Love to Help You Take the Next Step

If you’ve been living with a missing tooth in Wauwatosa, Brookfield, Elm Grove, or the surrounding communities, we invite you to schedule a consultation with our team. We’ll take the time to review your specific situation, walk you through the options that make sense for your anatomy and goals, and give you a clear picture of what treatment involves — with no pressure and no surprises.

Call us at (414) 454-0700 or reach out online to get started. The gap doesn’t have to be a permanent part of your life.