Dental Implants Can Help Restore Your Smile
If you have a missing tooth, you may want to consider obtaining affordable Dental Implants at our South Loop or Lakeview offices. Implants help in your ability to chew and in preserving healthy bone structure. To decide if an implant is right for you, here is some information to look over.
What You Should Know About Dental Implants
How Can I Qualify to Receive Dental Implants?
Anyone with missing or damaged teeth can qualify to receive dental implants. However, you must be healthy to undergo the necessary procedures; this is because some illnesses can make dental implants less effective. This includes untreated gum disease, untreated diabetes, alcohol dependency, cancer, smoking and recent chemotherapy or radiation exposure to your jawline. Be sure to inform your specialist of any medications currently prescribed to you, as well as your overall health history during your initial checkup.
How Does Tooth Loss Affect One’s Bone Health?
The density and shape of your bones all rely on adequate stimulation. Your teeth are no exception. Your alveolar bones, which help hold your teeth in place, tend to decay alongside your teeth. Once your tooth falls out, you can expect to lose as much as 25 percent of the alveolar bone’s overall width within one full year. The height of the bone will also wane as time passes.
As you can imagine, the number of teeth you have lost can severely affect the overall health of your jawline. Once you begin losing your alveolar bone, the other components of your jawline also begin to decline.
It Possible to Restore the Jaw Bones for One’s Dental Implants?
There are a few procedures that can help to restore lost bone. In fact, dental implants can help keep one’s jawbone intact, in addition to replacing teeth that have fallen out. A professional can either utilize certain surgical procedures to restore the bone or graft new pieces of bone within the gum sockets. Here are some other procedures that can help reduce bone loss:
- Replacing a single tooth: The dentist will affix an abutment onto your implant, either just after the initial procedure or during the procedure. The abutment will adhere a crown to the implant, effectively substituting for the tooth you have lost. This crown should look identical to your old tooth and be a good fit within your gums because it will be specially made for your mouth. The dentist will secure the crown with a screw or cement.
- Replacing multiple teeth: The process of replacing more than one tooth is similar to replacing a single tooth. Your dentist may affix abutments or healing caps to your teeth while they finish healing. From there, you will receive new lifelong abutments that, much like one-tooth replacement, are specially made for you and will fit onto your bridgework or new crowns. In the case of bridgework, your dentist will completely secure them with screws or cement once you have finished recovering from the procedure. This will eliminate any chances of losing more bone tissue, as well as protect your remaining teeth.
What Is the Difference Between Dental Implants and Natural Teeth?
While these two things may seem similar to one another, they are anything but. Your dental implants fit into your gums much differently than your natural teeth do. They are also fixed in different ways, require varied forms of care and aren’t affected by poor dental health in the same ways.
Regarding the way these two types of teeth attach to the gums, your implants will be fixed to your bone tissue, while your teeth are cushioned within your periodontal ligament, which holds the tooth in place against the bone. Additionally, your implants are not susceptible to cavities or decay; this is because they are made from metal. Natural teeth, however, are organic and prone to all sorts of conditions. The only condition you will need to watch out for with implants is peri-implantitis, which can cause the bone to recede and your implant to detach.
What Is the Best Way to Take Care of Dental Implants?
Tooth implants tend to be low-maintenance. On the off chance your implants become too damaged to continue wearing, your dentist can both take out the implant and install a proper replacement, all without affecting the underlying bone or any other implants in your mouth.
You will need to regularly floss and brush, just as with your natural teeth. Be sure to talk with your dentist for other tips on how to best care for your implants.