How healthy are your teeth? Although many people are quick to underestimate their dental health, the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of different elements that play into overall dental wellness. From how often you brush and floss to how regularly you attend regular checkups, it is important to stay in close communication with your dentist, especially if you come down with a new symptom. The purpose of this website is to help people to understand and resolve dental issues, since small symptoms can lead to big problems down the road. Check out these posts to learn more about dental care.
Even though dental implants are considered to be a relatively new thing in modern dentistry, the idea of implants has actually been around for a while. According to News-Medical, ancient Chinese civilizations carved out bamboo pegs as early as 2000 BC to resemble teeth that were inserted in the mouth. In history, implants have even been harvested from other humans or animals to replace teeth in the jawline. Thankfully, dental implants have greatly evolved from those earliest examples; they are now made of a body-safe metal, highly effective, and highly safe. Take a look at some of the ways dental implants have changed dentistry forever.
People with ill-fitting dentures have a resolution.
Dentures have long been the most common way for people to replace their teeth, but dentures can have their pitfalls. One of the primary complaints with dentures, no matter how well they are made, is that they can shift and move in the mouth. The use of denture adhesives was the only resolution for many years, but dental implants changed all of that. Dentures can be anchored on a few implants so that they stay in place nicely.
Bridges do not have to be affixed to natural teeth.
Bridges are one or more prosthetic teeth that get attached to natural surrounding teeth to fill in gaps in a smile. For example, if a patient is missing their two front teeth, a bridge with prosthetic teeth would have two anchoring mechanisms that attach to the surrounding teeth beside the gap. While this is an effective way to fill a gap, it also relies on the stability of the natural teeth to work. If a patient loses the anchor teeth, they also lose the entire bridge. Dental implants make it possible to install a bridge and anchor it in place without relying on natural teeth.
Edentulous people can get a new smile that looks and feels real.
People who are completely edentulous have lost all of their natural teeth, and not having teeth can be detrimental to both the health and self-confidence of the individual. Dental implants have given people who would otherwise have to rely on dentures a new alternative to getting their smiles back. A single implant with a crown can be placed in the precise position where a tooth was lost, which means a complete smile can be recreated if that is what a patient chooses to do.
Contact your dentist to learn more about dental implants.