Dental Implants
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are replacement tooth roots. Implants provide a strong foundation for fixed (permanent) or removable replacement teeth that are made to match your natural teeth.
What Are the Advantages of Dental Implants?
There are many advantages to dental implants, including:
Improved appearance: Dental implants look and feel like your own teeth. And because they are designed to fuse with bone, they become permanent.
Improved speech: With poor-fitting dentures, the teeth can slip within the mouth causing you to mumble or slur your words. Dental implants allow you to speak without the worry that teeth might slip.
Improved comfort: Because they become part of you, implants eliminate the discomfort of removable dentures.
Easier eating: Sliding dentures can make chewing difficult. Dental implants function like your own teeth, allowing you to eat your favorite foods with confidence and without pain.
Improved self-esteem: Dental implants can give you back your smile and help you feel better about yourself.
Improved oral health: Dental implants don’t require reducing other teeth, as a tooth-supported bridge does. Because nearby teeth are not altered to support the implant, more of your own teeth are left intact, improving long-term oral health.
Individual implants also allow easier access between teeth, improving oral hygiene.
Durability: Implants are very durable and will last many years. With good care, many implants last a lifetime.
There are three phases to getting an implant:
First, the dentist surgically places the implant into the jawbone. Your dentist may recommend a diet of soft foods, cold foods and warm soup during the healing process.
Next, the bone around the implant heals in a process called osseointegration. What makes an implant so strong is that the bone actually grows around it and holds it in place.
Osseointegration means “combines with the bone” and takes time.
Some patients might need to wait until the implant is completely integrated, up to several months, before replacement teeth can be attached to the implant.
Other patients can have the implants and replacement teeth placed all in one visit.
Finally, it’s time for the placement of the artificial tooth/teeth. For a single tooth implant, your dentist will customize a new tooth for you, called a dental crown. The crown will be based on size, shape, color and fit, and will be designed to blend in with your other teeth. If you are replacing more than a single tooth, custom-made bridges or dentures will be made to fit your mouth and your implants.
If you are interested in dental implants, it’s a good idea to discuss it carefully with your dentist first.
