Do you hide your smile because you have missing teeth? Or your full denture or partial denture is uncomfortable, or you have inadequate teeth left to fabricate a fixed bridge?The state of the art (and the most sound option) is the dental implant to replace missing teeth.
Dental implants are surgically placed titanium posts, into the upper or lower jaw. Millions of implants are placed annually in the United States and are considered a common option to replace missing teeth.
The benefits of implants are numerous. Implants won’t slip or shift, which is extremely important with eating or speaking. They feel natural, are a stand alone unit, and does not involve any surrounding teeth to restore the area. Implants even preserve bone after the teeth are lost and have longevity as long as the oral health is maintained around the area.
Implants and Dentures
There are many uses for the implants and two of the most popular are implant-retained dentures and implant-supported crowns. The first is the implant denture. The purpose is to replace the missing tooth roots and use the implants as anchors to secure the denture. Because the bone in the jaw grows around the implants, an implant-supported denture tends to be comfortable and stable. It allows you to chew and bite without the denture moving. It looks and feels natural.
Implant Crowns
The second most common implant use are implant crowns. There are three steps to the restoring of the implant. First, placing the implant, is carefully determined by the dentist. Second, healing of the implant, that can take several months to integrate with the bone. Placement of the tooth or teeth to receive the dental crown, is the last step. The abutment and crown are custom fit and made to look and function like a natural tooth.
If you are missing teeth, consider implants. There are many reasons why you should replace missing teeth. Among them are, you may not like the gaps when you smile, missing teeth affect how you speak, it affects chewing, missing teeth creates bone loss of surrounding teeth, and lastly can make your face sag, giving an older appearance.
