Why consider a dental implant?
Dental implants use a screw, abutment and tooth replacement such as a dental crown, bridge or dentures to replace natural tooth roots in areas of the mouth that are missing teeth.
These permanent tooth replacements offer the stability needed to preserve your jawbone and help your natural teeth remain in place so they don't shift to fill the spot where the missing tooth once was.
If you're curious about why your dentist has recommended a dental implant, read on. Our Lethbridge dentists can explain why you might consider a dental implant if you are hoping to replace one or more missing teeth.
1. Dental implants address and prevent bone loss.
Losing teeth can also lead to the deterioration of the jawbone. We can address this with a bone graft before placing the dental implant and tooth replacement. Using a dental implant to replace missing teeth as soon as possible also prevents potential future bone loss, protects your oral and overall health and preserves your facial structure.
2. You may smile more confidently.
When teeth are lost due to decay, trauma, dental disease or other causes, the resulting bone loss and loss of facial structure can cause people to feel self-conscious about smiling and socializing with others. But with a dental implant, we can address the sunken facial appearance, chances of wrinkling and collapse that can happen when teeth are missing. An intact jawbone supports a natural-looking and healthy facial structure, perhaps helping you look younger for longer.
3. Dental implants prevent digestive problems stemming from missing teeth.
If you are missing teeth, you may be at a disadvantage when it comes to properly chewing your food. Therefore, you may experience digestive issues. But by replacing missing teeth, we can address this, giving you back your full chewing capability – and leaving you with the ability to enjoy your favourite foods for many years to come.
4. Dental implants typically won't move around or fall out.
With a permanent, custom-made dental implant, you would typically be able to do anything with this tooth replacement that you can do with your natural teeth – including eating hard-to-chew foods such as spare ribs and corn on the cob, coughing, sneezing and smiling. Because implants are securely placed and attached to the jawbone, they should not shift or feel loose. The only reasons this would happen would be infection, dental disease, or potential injury.
5. Your adjacent teeth will not be affected by the need for bridges, denture clasps or attachments.
While bridges and dentures have their place, dentures do require adhesives and bridges require some of your surrounding natural teeth to be ground down so that the bridge can be cemented onto them. While this option may work if the surrounding teeth have been restored with large crowns or fillings, if they are not restored it would be best to leave them alone, since the prepared tooth structure can never be replaced.
Dental implant-supported bridges and crowns do not involve your surrounding natural teeth, which helps to preserve more of the natural structure of those teeth while protecting your oral health at the same time.