Losing a tooth affects a person’s everyday life on many levels and none of it is pleasant.
First and foremost it has an effect on a physical level, making chewing more difficult, and it can cause emotional discomfort as well in case the place of the lost tooth is visible when smiling or speaking. In the long term having a missing tooth can also cause the denture to not line up correctly, this way the muscles in the jaw must work harder to bring the teeth together, thus sometimes causing pain or even migraines.
Fortunately dental implants have been a solution now for decades and thanks to the fast advance of technology in this field as well, there are great solutions with amazing results when it comes to losing one or even several teeth, no matter if due to trauma or hereditary reasons.
So what is a tooth implant and when is it recommended?
A dental implant procedure is an outpatient surgery. The implant is made of titanium and other materials that fuse with your jawbone and imitate the root of a tooth. This artificial root allows the dentist to secure your replacement teeth so they feel stable and blend in with your surrounding teeth.
The implant’s success depends on the strength of the jawbone. Over time, the bone wears down and decays, leaving a weaker structure on which to affix the implant. Eventually, patients may require bone grafts before they can undergo placement of a dental implant. Avoid this painful and lengthy process by consulting your dentist as soon as possible after the tooth falls out.
There might be a couple of situations which might not allow the success of an implant. Growing children may not be able to get a dental implant until their jaw growth and development is complete. People with chronic diseases such as diabetes or leukemia may also not be good candidates for dental implants because those conditions can interfere with healing after surgery. However, in most of the patients’ cases an implant is the best long term solution.
A dental implant completely replaces a natural tooth and can be used to bite and chew without slipping as can occur with dentures. And unlike dentures, implants are permanently placed, meaning that all cleaning — brushing twice daily and flossing — is done alongside your natural teeth. Because they are attached to the interior jawbone, implants don’t put strain on neighboring teeth as dental bridges tend to do and don’t require any special steps to clean.
They provide a longer-lasting alternative to a bridge or dentures and restore comparatively more functionality to teeth. No one, not even you, will be able to tell you have a dental implant. Implants are made to feel completely natural in the mouth. The dentist matches the color and shape of your other teeth to the implant. The only way to discover a dental implant involves a radiograph to show the metal that replaced the root of the tooth.
Since there are several techniques and solutions for different tooth loss situations, even when it comes to partial or whole dentures, an implant can be a long term safe solution in order to secure the patient’s health and none the less oral aesthetics.