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Dental implants are a state-of-the-art option for replacing one or more missing teeth, restoring your smile, your bite balance, and your confidence. While implants aren’t the only option — dentures and bridges can work, too — they’re extremely popular. In fact, in the United States, more than 2 million implant procedures are performed yearly.
Richard Blackburn, DMD, MA, is a top-ranked provider of dental implants, helping patients at Volterra Dental improve their oral health following tooth loss. Here, Dr. Blackburn reviews five of the most compelling reasons to choose dental implants if you’ve lost one or more teeth.
1. They’re more like your natural teeth
When most of us think about our teeth, we think about the part we can see — the crown portion above the gum. But teeth also extend under the gum all the way to the jaw bone. Dental implants are designed to mimic this “shape,” so they feel and “work” more like your natural teeth.
Implants have a visible crown, just like our own natural teeth, and they also feature a titanium post embedded in the jaw bone, just like a tooth’s natural root. Because of their unique design, implants simply feel more like a natural tooth than dentures and bridges, which can help you feel a lot more confident following tooth loss.
2. There’s no risk of sore spots or embarrassing slippage
Dentures feature unique materials and a custom fit to hug the contours of your gums. But despite those features, they can still slip, especially when eating certain foods. Not only is slippage embarrassing, but repeated slippage can lead to sore spots and even infections over time. Denture fittings can help, but they can’t eliminate the problem.
Dental implants avoid slipping entirely because their special post secures them in your jawbone. Once the post is implanted, bone tissue forms around it, holding it securely in place, so you don’t have to worry about slippage, embarrassment, or sore spots.
3. They’re easy to take care of
Dentures require a special care routine to clean and keep them in good shape. Effectively cleaning around bridges, especially permanently affixed ones, can be challenging.
On the other hand, dental implants are cared for the same way you care for your natural teeth, with regular brushing and flossing. There’s no need for special equipment; you don’t have to soak your implants overnight in water like with dentures. It’s just one more way dental implants feel more like having your own natural teeth.
4. You don’t have to worry about the foods you eat
Dentures and bridges are designed to be durable, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be damaged. In fact, with both these options, avoiding very hard, sticky, or chewy foods is a good idea since these foods could damage your dentures or bridges or get trapped in your bridgework.
Dentures can also trap food particles under your plate. Not only can trapped food be uncomfortable, but those tiny particles can also be a major source of bad breath and cause sore spots that increase the risk of infection.
Since dental implants are secured to your jawbone, you can eat the foods you love without worrying about avoiding sticky, chewy, or crunchy foods. Just use the same cautions you’d use with your natural teeth to prevent chipping the crown.
5. They can help prevent future tooth loss
Your jawbone continually remodels, replacing worn tissue with new, healthy tissue. This process ensures your jaws stay strong and supports and stabilizes your tooth roots.
The bone replacement cycle depends on stimulation from your tooth roots. When you lose a tooth, that root is gone, too, leaving a “weak” spot in your jawbone that increases the risk of additional tooth loss.
The implant post is designed to replace a natural tooth root. Embedded in the jawbone, it stimulates the bone replacement cycle, preventing bone thinning and weakness that can lead to more lost teeth.
Find out more about dental implants
We can replace a single tooth, multiple teeth, or even an entire arch with implants. To learn more about implants and how they can improve your smile, request an appointment online or over the phone with Dr. Blackburn and the team at Volterra Dental in Los Alamitos, California, today.