Dental Implants Transform

If you’ve lost a tooth or several teeth, you’ll know how the resulting gaps in your mouth can change your appearance – and not in a good way! Dental implants can restore your self-confidence by transforming your smile. Before dental implants, people with missing teeth had to depend on dentures or bridges that could result in embarrassing mishaps, doing little in allowing you to show off your smile with assurance.

Implants can solve this problem by restoring your smile to its former glory. The key in how dental implants transform your smile lies in their main component – ¬titanium, which becomes part of your jaw as a replacement tooth root to securely anchor artificial teeth. Besides transforming your smile, implants also come with a range of oral health benefits because of their high level of functionality, which gives you all the advantages of having natural, healthy teeth.

These factors have made dental implants a popular alternative to traditional methods of tooth replacement. Implants feel just like natural teeth. They are also indistinguishable from real teeth – an important consideration in transforming your smile. As well as being stain resistant, implants are resistant to decay. Your implants – and your transformed smile – will stay bright and beautiful on a permanent basis with routine oral hygiene.

Why It’s Important to Replace Missing Teeth

Through tooth decay, gum disease or injury, many people in the U.S. aged 45 to 65 have lost at least one tooth. One in four aged over 65 is missing all their teeth. Noticeable gaps caused by missing teeth can be a source of embarrassment that makes you reluctant to smile or laugh. The loss of a single back tooth can also ruin your smile by twisting your mouth out of shape and making you look older.

Scientists say smiling helps you to feel better about yourself because it changes your brain chemistry. As well as spoiling your smile, gaps caused by tooth loss can have serious health consequences. A missing tooth can shift bite force onto other teeth. Eventually, this can move teeth into the gap left by the missing tooth.

Tooth loss also makes it easier for bacteria-ridden plaque to accumulate. This can lead to gum infections that can result in the loss of more teeth. The outstanding degree of practicality of dental implants combined with their ability to transform your smile has made them the tooth replacement system of choice for many people.

What Are Dental Implants and How Do They Work?

A dental implant is a titanium post that’s surgically inserted into the jawbone beneath the gums. An artificial tooth – removable or fixed – is then attached to the implant. Permanent implant-supported teeth feel more like natural teeth and are more stable. Dental implants have the highest success rate of all surgical implant procedures – up to 98 percent – and a history of enduring dependability and effectiveness. Dental implants are a permanent solution. Unlike dentures and bridges, which may have to be replaced in time, implants become part of your jaw.

Implants can replace a single missing tooth, several teeth or all your teeth. The implant procedure typically comprises three steps:

  • A qualified dental professional surgically inserts the implant.
  • Healing time for the bone to grow around the implant.
  • Placement of the synthetic tooth or teeth.

Dental implants have been used in the U.S. for decades and have been improved and perfected over the years, making huge strides in a relatively short time. Advances in the technology behind dental implants have also made them affordable to more people. According to the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID), half a million adults in the U.S. have implant treatment every year. Different kinds of implants are now available, including mini and micro versions of the regular implant, and implant-retained overdentures and bridges offer an alternative to conventional bridges and dentures.

Maintaining Your Smile and Your Dental Health

One of the main ways that implants transform your smile is by preserving bone to prevent weakening of facial structure. Like muscle, bone declines if not used. Without stimulation from a tooth root, the supporting bone can begin to waste away. Dentures and bridges can’t fix this problem, but implants are robust tooth root replacements that become part of your jaw and maintain its structural integrity.

Implants also transform your smile by helping to keep your remaining natural teeth healthy. Unlike conventional dental bridges, implants need no adjustments to surrounding teeth, and they help to stop adjacent teeth drifting out of position. Besides transforming your smile, implants are the most innovative tooth replacement system, representing a significant breakthrough in dentistry and now widely used to improve the lives of people of all ages.

Implants are considered unique in:

  • Giving you a powerful bite so you can eat your favorite foods again.
  • Encouraging bone growth to maintain the structural integrity of your jaw.
  • Providing stability for your surrounding natural teeth.

Can Dental Implants Transform My Smile?

Anyone healthy enough for a routine tooth extraction is a potential candidate for a dental implant, provided they have sufficient volume and adequate quality of jawbone. If the bone is lacking or deficient, a bone graft will be necessary ahead of the implant procedure. The American Academy of Implant Dentistry says implants are appropriate for anyone whose jaw has completed development and who is in good general health. The AAID says that over 35 million people in the U.S. are missing all their upper or lower teeth, or both, and the number of patients getting implants is rising fast.

Removable dentures and bridges may need replacing over time, but implants provide a permanent solution because they become part of your jaw and maintain its structural integrity. Implants can transform your smile and your confidence and provide stability for surrounding natural teeth. With proper care, they can last for decades. An experienced implant dentist, like Dr. Aileen Trivedi, can help you to decide whether implants are the best way to transform your smile. Contact Fine Dentistry of Orlando today to learn more about dental implants and see if they’re the right choice for you.