Dental implant treatment is a lasting method to change one or more missing teeth caused by disease or injury. It involves using dental implants (metal posts), usually made from titanium, to act as roots for your prosthetic teeth. This way, you can have stable, natural-looking, and functional teeth.
Ways Dental Implants Improve Your Oral Health
The following are some ways dental implants can improve your oral health:
1. They Help Preserve Jawbone
Dental implants stimulate the jawbone by acting as a root for a synthetic tooth. This stimulation encourages the jawbone to remain strong, preventing it from weakening over time.
2. They Improve Your Bite
Replacing missing teeth with dental implants can improve how you chew and bite food, making eating easier and more pleasurable. They are created to mimic natural teeth, so they fit into your bite quickly and securely without impacting other teeth or causing pain when biting down. This makes them more comfortable than dentures, which frequently slip around and cause discomfort or irritation.
3. They Help Prevent Dental Cavities
Having tooth gaps makes it harder to keep your teeth clean, increasing the risk of tooth decay, cavities, and other oral health problems. With dental implants, you can brush and floss like normal, reducing the risk of these issues.
How Dental Implants Improve Your Smile
Missing teeth can be unappealing when you smile, talk, or laugh. Dental implants can improve your smile by providing a natural-looking and sturdy replacement for missing teeth. Unlike removable dentures, you don’t have to worry about them slipping out of place or being visible when you smile or talk, which many individuals find embarrassing. You may click here for more detailed information about dental implants.
Also, the metal posts used in dental implant treatment are designed to blend in with your natural teeth and look indistinguishable from real teeth.
How Dental Implant Procedure Is Done
Here is what you can expect to happen throughout your dental implant treatment:
- Initial consultation. During this session, my dentist in Poughkeepsie will discuss the treatment plan and ensure you meet the candidacy requirements for dental implants. They will also perform X-rays and other essential tests to examine your teeth, jawbone, and gums. At this phase, ask about all your issues, including the costs and payment plans. You can get more information here.
- Additional procedures. Before your implant surgery, your dentist will perform additional treatments, such as bone graft, sinus lift, and tooth extractions (see tooth extractions in facilities like Dedicated Dental Studios of Poughkeepsie for more info), if necessary.
- Dental implant surgery. Your dentist will start the procedure by administering local anesthesia. Sometimes they also give sedatives or general anesthesia, depending on an individual’s case. Then they’ll make an incision in the gum to access the jawbone. After preparing the implant site, they insert the metal post and close the cut with stitches.
- Healing time. Throughout this stage, your dental implant will require time to fuse with the jawbone, called osseointegration. This process can take up to 5 months, and your dentist will monitor it through X-rays or CT scans.
- Attaching the abutment and restoring the teeth. After the implant has successfully fused with your jawbone, your dentist will attach an abutment to it and place your replacement tooth/teeth over it to restore your tooth’s function and appearance.
While it’s generally safe, dental implant treatment is an invasive procedure that requires minor surgery. That’s why you must choose a reputable facility with experienced dental experts, such as Dedicated Dental Studios of Poughkeepsie. Your dentist should also utilize state-of-the-art equipment and materials to ensure a positive outcome.
