Sometimes, despite great dental care, you may lose a tooth or require tooth extraction. When this occurs, one of the options for tooth replacement is dental implants.
There are several reasons why dental implants are beneficial, primarily because they mimic natural tooth structure. Patients appreciate the natural look and feel of dental implants. Dental implants are also very long-lasting, and provide an optimally secure chewing surface.
Clean Your Dental Implant Just like a Natural Tooth
One of the common reasons that extensive tooth replacement is needed is widespread decay. In such circumstances, patients often suffer ongoing pain due to diseased teeth. When teeth are replaced with high-grade ceramic and roots are replaced with surgical-grade titanium implants, pain transitions into a thing of the past.
Although the dental implant itself cannot decay, all of the tissue surrounding it can. It is important to consider your implant one of your natural teeth. Brush and floss on and around the tooth like normal to maintain a healthy, attractive smile. But there’s no special maintenance required of a dental implant.
Preserves the Density of the Bone Beneath Your Teeth
Without a tooth root, the bone beneath the site of the missing tooth may shrink over the years. This is generally a harmless situation, but it can lead to a collapsed, aged-looking lower half of the face. It has been discovered that the reason we lose bone after we lose teeth is that the force of chewing travels through teeth and their roots to the jawbone. This transfer of energy is necessary to stimulate regeneration of bone. Therefore, without it, bone density decreases a little with every passing year. As studies have evaluated the effects of dental implants, we have learned that the titanium posts take over in terms of supporting bone growth.
Potential to Last a Lifetime
The durability of results is one of the aspects of restorative dentistry that creates value. Studies on dental implants suggest that, with proper care, implants can be retained in the jawbone for 30 years. Because “good care” is so easy, it is natural to expect long-term (potentially lifelong!) results from the implant process.
Find Out If You Are a Dental Implant Candidate
Our patients visit us from Georgetown, TX, and all of the surrounding areas. Call us today to schedule a dental implant consultation.