How an Implant Dentist Can Restore Your Smile

People with tooth loss can smile with confidence again, thanks to the help of an implant dentist. Tooth loss can greatly impact a person's quality of life, affecting how they speak, eat, and feel about their smile. Also, tooth loss can eventually lead to bone loss and changes in facial structure. Fortunately, an implant dentist can help patients restore the form and function of their smile, even if they have been missing teeth for a while.

Effects of tooth loss

Tooth loss affects appearance as well as oral health. In addition to interfering with chewing and speaking function, prolonged tooth loss has other negative consequences. For example, losing one or two teeth can cause other teeth to shift out of place, further hampering chewing function and smile alignment.

Bone loss is another unfortunate consequence of tooth loss. Bone is reabsorbed when tooth roots are absent to stimulate the jawbone. Therefore, the more jawbone is lost, the longer teeth go missing. This can eventually lead to changes in the face's bottom half and make the person appear older.

Benefits of dental implants

Fortunately, an implant dentist can offer patients a solution to restore their smile after tooth loss. Dental implants are screw-like metal posts inserted into the jaw bone to support a false replacement tooth or set of teeth. This tooth replacement option offers the most comprehensive smile restoration for these reasons:

Similar to natural teeth

When completed, dental implants closely resemble the look of natural teeth and how they function. The implant helps restore full chewing power, and many patients say they cannot tell the difference between the implant in their natural tooth. Like natural teeth, no oral appliance needs removal for cleaning. As a result, people can care for their implants similarly to the way they did their natural teeth.

Durability

Though the visible part of the dental implant tooth replacement will eventually need replacement, the dental implant posts can last decades and even a lifetime. This makes dental implants the longest-lasting tooth replacement option. However, an important part of ensuring this durability is proper oral healthcare.

Restores jawbone stimulation

Unlike other tooth replacement options, a dental implant restores the root portion of the tooth. The dental implant post acts as the new tooth root and continues to stimulate the jawbone, similar to how the natural tooth root once did. This helps prevent bone loss in the jawbone and shifting in facial structure that comes with long-term tooth loss.

The process

During an initial consultation, the implant dentist will decide if a patient is a good candidate for dental implants. Most adults healthy enough for surgery can become good candidates for this procedure. Thanks to dental bone grafting, even those who have experienced bone loss or have been missing teeth for a while can gain the jawbone density needed to support dental implants.

It is important to note that the process can take 4 to 9 months. This is because the process involves multiple procedures and will be longer for patients who need to undergo dental bone grafting before the initial implant placement.