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.
Many people have missing teeth or at least one missing tooth. There are many ways to replace missing teeth, but dental implants are becoming more and more popular for their many benefits. If you would like to know more, check out these three benefits of getting dental implants.
1. Uses the Jawbone
Dental implants are the only tooth-replacement procedure that directly uses the jawbone for support. During the procedure, the dentist inserts a screw-like artificial tooth root into the jawbone where the natural tooth roots once sat. After the area heals, the dentist places the abutment and the crown.
As a result of using the jawbone, dental implants are incredibly durable and can easily withstand wear and tear from chewing, biting, and grinding. In fact, if you maintain your oral health (particularly to prevent gum disease), you may never need to replace the implant. You may, however, need to replace the crown at some point. However, if you don't maintain your oral health and develop gum disease around the implant, it may fail.
2. Strengthens Jawbone
The implant doesn't just sit in your jawbone. It's made from titanium, which can fuse to bone. This is a leading reason the implant is so durable. However, because the bone can fuse to the implant, the implant, in turn, stimulates the bone tissue, which is incredibly important.
When you lose teeth, the jawbone loses stimulation and slowly atrophies. This makes your jawbone smaller and weaker, which can also promote future tooth loss. In extreme cases, multiple missing teeth can drastically change the shape of the lower portion of your face. Because the implants stimulate the bone, they prevent the jawbone from shrinking.
3. Doesn't Damage Existing Teeth
Dental bridges are a popular way to replace missing teeth because they are fixed, unlike dentures. However, they rely on healthy teeth for support. Because of this, the dentist must permanently alter the healthy teeth by filing down the enamel to hold the bridge.
Since implants use the jawbone, they don't damage healthy teeth. In fact, if you want a dental bridge to replace multiple missing teeth, you can request an implant-supported bridge, which uses implants instead of teeth to support the bridge.
Dental implants are a great option for replacing teeth. You can even ask about denture implants to replace all your teeth. If you would like to know more about dental implants, contact a dentist in your area today.