Unfortunately, losing teeth will affect many of us as it’s incredibly common to have one or more teeth missing. When you do lose teeth, it’s important to replace them, and there are several potential options, including:
Traditional dentures that rest on the gums
Dental bridges supported by existing natural teeth
Dental implants are regarded as the gold standard for tooth loss
Since tooth implants are not the cheapest or quickest solution, many wonder if they are the best procedure. If you are facing tooth loss and are currently on the fence about dental implants, here are some of the most important benefits of dental implants.
1. Protecting Your Jawbone
Protecting your jawbone is the top benefit of having dental implants, but patients likely overlook it. When you have natural teeth, the tooth roots extend quite a way into the jawbone.
The tooth roots help keep your teeth firmly anchored in the jawbone but have another important purpose: to stimulate the bone around them. If you lose teeth, you lose the tooth roots as well, and as a result, you will lose bone mass in your jaw.
Without the stimulation provided by tooth roots, the jawbone gradually resorbs as old bone cells are no longer replaced. A significant part of bone loss occurs within the first year of tooth loss but continues to some extent afterward. It is a problem because losing bone destabilizes adjacent teeth and can make it harder to wear dentures comfortably. Unwanted tooth movements can negatively affect your bite and be difficult to correct later. If you have lost multiple teeth, the bone loss can change your facial dimensions, so your facial features begin to collapse inward.
Dental implants have a post surgically inserted into your jawbone, replicating a real tooth root and providing all the stimulation necessary to keep the surrounding bone strong and healthy. No other tooth replacement solution offers this benefit.
2. A Natural-Looking Appearance
There are many different implant systems available, and provided you choose a highly trained and experienced implant dentist near you like a periodontist, you will be able to get the system that suits you best.
An experienced implant dentist can also design teeth that look and feel natural and, most importantly, function like real teeth. Well-designed implant teeth are difficult to tell from natural teeth.
3. Restoring Your Biting Strength
It isn’t easy to eat a wide range of foods when you don’t have teeth that are strong and fully functional.
Dentures have far lower biting strength than natural teeth, and you must be a bit careful with dental bridges.
Dental implants provide a similar biting strength to real teeth because they are firmly anchored in the jaw by small titanium alloy or zirconia implant posts. When you have dental implant teeth, you can eat just about anything you wish comfortably and confidently.
4. Restoring Facial Appearance
Your teeth support the muscles in your cheeks and lips, and without the support, your facial features collapse inward, changing the shape of your face and making you appear prematurely older than your real age. Dental implant teeth support these facial muscles, filling out your cheeks and lips correctly so you have the proper facial dimensions.
5. Clear Speech
Most of us take the ability to talk clearly and coherently for granted until we no longer have a full complement of teeth. Trying to talk without teeth is extremely tricky.
People who wear full dentures can often find the dentures begin to move around uncomfortably, especially as jawbone loss occurs, reducing denture retention. As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult to talk clearly, or the dentures can click embarrassingly.
There are no such concerns with dental implant teeth because they are held firmly in place and cannot move. You will be able to speak clearly and naturally.
6. No Cavities
Dental implant teeth will not rot or decay, so there is no need to worry about cavities.
However, although implant teeth might be artificial, it’s important to remember they are surrounded by living bone and gum, so it’s still critical to maintain good oral hygiene.
7. Easy to Look After
Dental implant teeth are very easy to care for, and if you have single dental implants, you can brush and floss around them exactly like your real teeth. If you have a dental implant bridge, you can still brush it normally, and your implant dentist will show you how to clean underneath the bridge properly.
Full dentures can be held in place with dental implants and are clipped onto the implants. These are very easy to remove for cleaning.
8. Protecting Your Adjacent Teeth
When you have dental implant teeth, it protects your remaining natural teeth. Dental implants ensure these teeth cannot shift position and help share the load when you bite and chew food. Unlike dental bridges, there is no need to adapt or grind down natural teeth for support.
9. A Versatile Treatment
Dental implants are good for anyone missing single teeth or multiple teeth. They are especially good for anyone missing a complete arch of teeth, and treatment is versatile.
Dental implants can support single implant crowns, such as for front teeth implant, or dental bridges, including full arch dental bridges. These restorations are permanently fixed in place.
Dental implants are frequently used to hold implant dentures in place, providing patients with an economical solution for complete tooth loss that is easy to look after.
10. A Long-Lasting Solution
Provided you care for them properly, your dental implants should last you for many years to come, and often there is no reason why they shouldn’t last for life.
Well-designed dental implant treatment provides a predictable outcome with enviable success rates of 95% or even higher.
However, it is important to realize you must choose a good dental implant dentist with years of experience and specialized training, preferably someone like a periodontist who is a true implant specialist. Choosing the right implant dentist can make all the difference to enjoying your teeth for years to come or having teeth that never look or feel quite right and may not last.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★Patients Just Like you
Riverside is the only place to go. Dr Aubacher and his Phenomenal staff make you feel like family. His Touch is painless and magical hands. This is first-hand experience, 21 extractions 17 Implants, all painless. Thanks shout out to Dee, the best and one of the original surgical assistants. Then LISA, words just can’t describe all she does in a day. Thanks, Howard M
If you have any questions about dental implants, to learn more, or to schedule a consultation with the implant specialist at Riverside Oral Surgery, call our center at (551) 287-2322 or visit any of our New Jersey locations.
