If you have a gap in your smile due to tooth loss, this could cause serious problems with both your appearance and your overall oral health. To provide our Brighton, MA, patients with a long-lasting and natural-looking solution to their missing teeth, we may suggest placing dental implants. In today’s blog, we’re looking at how we place and restore these durable new teeth.
The Benefits of Dental Implants
Unlike other prosthetics, such as traditional bridges and removable dentures, dental implants don’t rely on crowns or suction to stay in place. Instead, they can be inserted into the jawbone, where they bond with the bone tissue through a process known as osseointegration. Typically, when we lose our teeth the body stops supplying the jawbone around the missing tooth roots with calcium and phosphorus, causing the tissue to break down and the jawbone to lose mass and density. As a result, the jaw ridge changes, causing prosthetics to need replacement and increasing the risk of an older appearance over time. However, since dental implants act as new tooth roots, this stimulates the growth of the jawbone structure to preserve the ridge shape and your facial structure. As a result, these new teeth last for decades, a lifetime in some cases.
Am I a Good Candidate?
First, we will check for any underlying oral health issues that need attention. For example, the most common cause of adult tooth loss is periodontitis, the advanced stage of gum disease. If you have periodontitis, or gum disease, then we will first create a treatment plan to manage the issue better before moving forward. We also want to make sure you haven’t lost too much jawbone structure, as this could mean your smile is unable to support new teeth. If this is the case, you may need to first undergo bone grafting or ridge augmentation to strengthen your smile.
Keeping Your New Teeth Strong
For a single dental implant, we will use a crown to restore it and ensure you have an attractive and strong smile. For multiple missing teeth, we can support a bridge or denture. To keep your implants strong and your restorations bright, you need to not only undergo routine checkups and cleanings every six months, but brush and floss from home. If you have any questions about addressing tooth loss, then contact our team today.
Do You Have Questions About Implant Dentistry?
We want to help you avoid the complications of tooth loss with lifelike and dependable dental prosthetics. To learn more about tooth replacement options, then schedule a consultation by calling Brighton Family Dental Group in Brighton, MA, today at (617) 562-5210. We proudly welcome patients from Brighton, Watertown, and all surrounding communities.
