What is a dental implant?
Dental implants are replacement tooth roots. They have become the gold-standard and optimal way of replacing missing teeth due to similar esthetics and function as natural teeth. Implants provide a strong foundation for fixed (permanent) or removable options that are made to match your natural teeth.
Why should I replace my missing teeth?
Whenever you lose a tooth, the biting forces change on the teeth next to the space, causing them to shift. Opposing teeth may even begin to extrude or grow out of the socket, which means they too could eventually be lost. As your bite changes, it gets more difficult to chew your food, and you may suffer damage to your jaw joint. It’s also much harder to clean teeth that have shifted; harmful plaque and tartar collect in the new hard to-reach places created by the shifting, causing tooth decay and periodontal disease. As you can see, it’s critical that we replace a lost tooth.
Fixed Single and Multiple Tooth Dental Implants
An excellent option for replacing a missing tooth is an artificial tooth secured by a dental implant. Implants are titanium cylinders that are surgically placed in your jaw to serve as artificial tooth roots. Attaching a replacement tooth to a dental implant allows us to avoid placing a bridge. Bridges require that we prepare the adjacent natural teeth, which in certain cases can remove healthy tooth structure. Dental implants and porcelain crowns are practically indistinguishable from your natural teeth, and fit securely so that you won’t suffer from changes in chewing and speaking. When we place dental implants, it’s not necessary for us to alter the structure of the adjacent teeth, so their strength and integrity is maintained.
Image 1 – Single Implant/Crown
A dental implant replaces the roots of a missing tooth, which helps to fend off the bone loss that occurs when a tooth is missing. In essence, an implant is the next best thing to your natural tooth. You can replace a single missing tooth with one implant/crown (Image 1) or multiple missing teeth with a fixed porcelain bridge attached permanently to the multiple implants (Image 2). Start-to-finish, the procedure may require several months to complete, because it can take about three to four months for the dental implants to fuse to your bone tissue through a process called osseointegration. If you’re interested in replacing missing teeth with dental implants, we will perform a thorough evaluation to determine whether your health and lifestyle make you a good candidate for this relatively new approach to restorative dentistry.
Image 2 – Implant Supported Bridge (2 or more implants)
To Firm Up A Loose Denture (Removable)
If you have a lower denture, you probably know how hard it can be to eat comfortably. When lower teeth are lost, the bone in the jaw continually recedes. Over time, this causes a lower denture to become loose and floppy. Even worse, there are nerves in the lower jaw that can end up on the surface of the bone. When you bite down, it hurts! Fortunately, it’s usually possible to place dental implants into either jaw so that you can avoid problems associated with dentures. Dental implants are small titanium cylinders that are surgically inserted into the bone of the jaw to replace the roots of missing teeth. One way to use multiple implants is to connect the implants with a bar, and then put attachments into a new upper or lower denture. These attachments snap onto the bar and keep the denture from rocking and shifting. The denture can still be removed at home for easy access and cleaning of the dental implants and bar.
Using dental implants to support either an upper or lower denture will keep the pressure off the bone and the nerves. The implants also help stop the bone loss in the jaw that continues once teeth have been removed. Securing restorations with dental implants can make a world of difference, allowing you to eat, talk, laugh, and smile with confidence again.
