Dental Implants: What you need to know
By Richard Wodiske, DDS
Dental implants are not for everyone, but should your dentist recommend them as a solution to some condition you may be experiencing, there are a few things you’ll want to know. Based upon my many years of experience with dental implants, here are two of the first questions my patients want answers to:
Q: What are Dental Implants?
In short, dental implants are simply man-made replacements of your natural tooth roots. The reason we often recommend dental implants is to provide patients a strong base so that the tooth itself stays in place and does not move around. Think of it as a lasting substitute for the tooth root you yourself grew naturally, but that may have decayed or fractured over the years. Dental implants have the advantage of lasting a very long time, and take the place of any roots you have that may no longer do their job. .
Q: What Are The Benefits Of Dental Implants?
One reason our patients like implants, when their oral health calls for them, is that implants provide a wealth of benefits not just to your mouth but to your overall lifestyle. Here are some of the major reasons we may recommend them:
1. Prevents Bone Loss — when you lose a tooth, the face tends to “collapse” into the open space left by the natural tooth root. You may have seen that in a person who has last all of his teeth and has not had implants. Inserting dental implants prevents this bone reabsorption from occurring, and helps prevent bone loss.
2. You look better, feel more confident, and eat more comfortably. Implants look like, feel like and function almost exactly like your natural teeth. Very often that means you’ll look younger and more attractive, be more confident as you smile, laugh and communicate with others.
3. You’ll be able to enjoy a healthier diet. Because your implants help you chew foods critical to your health (such as fresh vegetables and fruit), you’ll experience an improved diet and you can help prevent malnutrition or stomach problems. Even your digestion will be more efficient and more comfortable.
4. Eating will be more pleasant, less painful. The secure base that implants provide for teeth means you don’t have to be so careful eating harder foods. Chewing an apple or nuts, for example, won’t be painful, in fact, it will be downright enjoyable. Many of our patients love the way their implants enable them to eat foods they may have given up for months or even years. Eating alone or with groups will be fun and enjoyable again.
5. No more worries about dentures that move around, pop out or gag you. Ever had your dentures fly out when you coughed, sneezed, laughed or simply bit into a hard fruit? Implants eliminate that worry. They’re so securely attached that the chance of them popping out are virtually nil.
6. Your mouth will look and function naturally again.
Through implants, your dentist can replace the entire tooth as well as the tooth root. That makes it possible for your implants to replicate the functioning of natural teeth, providing a strong foundation that makes it comfortable for the patient to bite and chew. With today’s technology, it’s difficult to tell whether a person has natural or artificial teeth, so you can have your natural look back again!
7. Tasting is easier, too. If you’ve ever worn an upper denture, you know how difficult it was to taste food because your tongue could not reach the roof of your mouth. But with implant supported replacement teeth, your tongue has free access to the roof of your mouth and you can taste your favorite foods with no problem.
8. Less risk of oral cancer and heart disease. Because your teeth will be much easier to care for with implants than with dentures, you reduce bacteria build up and protect your mouth from gum disease. Your overall oral health is better, and that’s always a good thing.
9. No more denture adhesives. Again, if you’ve had dentures, you know how messy and bothersome adhesives can be. Once you’ve had implants, you can throw the adhesives away because your implants are attached directly and permanently to the bone.
10. Implants don’t affect your remaining natural teeth. If you’ve worn a partial denture, you know that they often have clamps that hook onto our adjacent natural teeth—and that often causes those teeth to loosen and come out. Implants attach (as we’ve stated above) to the bone, not to surrounding teeth, preventing future damage to your natural teeth.
Bottomline: Implants can be a very good alternative for many people, whether to replace damaged teeth or as an alternate solution for people now wearing denture.
Want to know more about dental implants?
Contact us for more information about dental implants and how they can contribute to your dental health.
Call toll free (800) 615-0991
