DENTAL IMPLANTS 101

The top reasons patients in my practice opt for dental implants are:  to replace one or more teeth, to provide support for a partial denture, to increase stability of full upper or lower denture, to enhance chewing comfort, to increase confidence while smiling, talking or eating, to improve their overall psychological health, and to improve their overall appearance.  All great reasons, right?

Dental implants are typically always successful.  Their success is related to the dentist’s skill, quality and quantity of the bone available at the site of the implantation, and the patient’s oral hygiene.  The average success rate is around 95%.                                                        

One of the most important factors that determine implant success is the achievement and maintenance of implant stability.  Other contributing factors to the success of dental implant placement, as with most surgical procedures, include the patient’s overall general health and compliance with post-surgical care.  Because a dental implant functions like a real tooth, they are much more natural than you would likely expect.  Each tooth in the mouth has a specific duty.  Losing just one tooth can seriously alter your bite and chewing ability.  When teeth are lost, the bone supporting these teeth melts away, which causes a shortening of the height of the face as time goes on.  Dentures do not solve any of these problems because they are removable.

Furthermore, since an implant is made out of a titanium alloy, it can't decay like a natural tooth.  NO MORE FILLINGS!!!  Many of you will say amen to that feature.  Also, implants don't contain any nerves, so there is not cold, hot or sweet sensitivity.  EVER!!!   All great benefits of this outstanding procedure.  The placement of the implant takes no more than an hour and is really non-traumatic.  Many of the dental "cowards" in our office have found this procedure to be no more than having a filling done.  The advancements in dentistry have been nothing less than awesome.  One of the best reasons for going ahead with dental implants is because they are permanent, while dentures can obviously be taken out.  So, not only do dental implants help improve your smile, they also help maintain the overall tone and muscles in your face, and help prevent your remaining teeth from shifting our of place.