Dental implants offer long-term solutions to missing teeth. Not only are they durable and aesthetically pleasing, they don’t come with restrictions that traditional restorations such as removable dentures do.
Implants require healthy and strong bone to secure them properly. Your dentist will assess the state of your jawbone during surgery; if it appears weak, they may add bone graft tissue as part of the repair process.
1. They Look and Feel Like Your Natural Teeth
Patients who receive dental implants often cannot distinguish the difference between natural teeth and their implant due to its ability to integrate seamlessly into jaw bone, acting just like regular ones.
Implants allow patients to chew and speak normally, preserve bone health and prevent facial sagging, as well as look their best. For optimal performance of dental implants, brush twice daily and floss daily in order to remove plaque and bacteria build-up.
Before we perform a tooth replacement procedure, we will review your medical history and blood work to ensure you are healthy enough for this endeavor. If the natural bone in your jaw cannot support a restoration, a bone graft could be recommended; this procedure adds new bone tissue from either another part of your body or from a tissue bank.
2. They Preserve Bone Structure
Dental implants act like artificial tooth roots to stimulate jaw bone health and stop bone resorption; other tooth replacement solutions like bridges and dentures do not offer this advantage.
Titanium screws used in dental implants are implanted into the jaw bone by a dentist and then covered with false teeth or crowns by a false set. Over time, implant and bone become fused together forming an extremely strong bond.
If the jaw bone does not provide sufficient support for an implant, a sinus lift or bone graft procedure can be performed to use bone from another part of your body, typically hip or chin bone, and place it where an implant will be necessary – this allows you to receive one even though you have missing teeth.
3. They Support Your Facial Structure
Dental implants replicate the look, feel and function of natural teeth while simultaneously protecting bone structure – something vital to both facial aesthetics and overall oral health.
Losing a tooth causes bone in that area to recede due to lack of stimulation. This can cause facial structures to shift and lead to sunken facial features. Dental implants prevent this by providing your jawbone with adequate support.
To maximize their benefits from dental implants, patients should be in excellent general health and practice excellent oral hygiene. Furthermore, it’s crucial that patients inform their dentist of any medications or supplements taken as some can impede successful implant success. Smoking should also be avoided since this can hinder healing as well as gum tissue around an implant.
4. They Restore Chewing Power
Dental implants offer more than aesthetic restoration; they also restore normal chewing power of your remaining natural teeth, so you can eat what you enjoy without fear of choking or further damaging them.
Without stimulation from chewing, bone loss in the area of missing teeth can occur over time and lead to shifting of remaining natural teeth and dental problems that make replacement harder in the future.
Dental implants may provide an effective solution to this problem by being securely embedded within your jawbone, thus avoiding the sunken appearance that occurs when many or all natural teeth have been lost. As such, dental implants have become an increasingly popular tooth replacement choice over traditional dentures.
5. They Prevent Bite Changes
Dental implants provide the ideal replacement solution for missing teeth because they look, feel and function just like natural ones. No dietary restrictions are necessary as dental implants prevent bone loss and bite changes which could compromise both your smile and oral health.
After losing a tooth, the bone that once supported it begins to dissolve away over time, altering your appearance and leading to remaining teeth shifting out of their original positions. Implants stimulate bone, helping prevent its gradual depletion while simultaneously supporting facial structures and keeping them stable and supporting dental hygiene.
Titanium implants are biocompatible, meaning that they will naturally bond to your jawbone through a process called osseointegration, providing support for replacement crowns on an implant post (which acts like a tooth root).
