Dental Implants: A New Age Solution to an Age Old problem
When teeth are missing or decaying, it can lead to functional deficits and embarrassing interactions for patients, often wondering where to turn for help and normalcy. For years, traditional dentures were a mainstay in the world of dentistry to replace missing teeth, though certainly not without their limitations. When teeth are missing, and there is nothing for bone to support, bone will start to resorb and become absent often leading to not only esthetic changes, but functional changes as well as stability of surrounding teeth is ultimately jeopardized. Though dentures may provide a chewing surface for the patient, they certainly do not solve this issue of bone loss, and their limitations regarding stability, talking, chewing, and natural look cannot be overstated. What, then, is the ultimate solution?
Enter dental implants, a screw retained option that is more natural looking than traditional dentures, providing more stability for chewing and retention of natural speech patterns that dentures often cannot provide. Even with this esthetic and functional advantage over dentures, does this solve the bone loss issue that can lead to additional tooth loss and esthetic breakdown of the mouth and smile?
The answer is yes! Through a process called osteointegration, bone forms around the dental implant to increase stability and incorporate it fully into the mouth as if it were a natural tooth. In addition to this added stability during talking and chewing, the osteointegration process provides bone a function of support and limits the amount of bone loss that takes place in the mouth when a tooth or multiple teeth are missing, eliminating the problem that exists with traditional, non-implant supported dentures.
Often, patients will have questions regarding durability of dental implants. Afterall, in what is often not an inexpensive process requiring surgery, healing, and downtime, how long can these artificial teeth last? Most dental implants are made of a titanium screw, the same material used on the space shuttle. With proper care, regular dental hygiene visits, and at home hygine practices, dental implants can last a lifetime.
To schedule a complimentary dental implant consultation with Dr. Platt and his team, call us at 219-864-1133, or visit us online at jplattdds.com.
Posted by
jayplatt219
on May 30th, 2022
8:21 am
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Tags: DDS, dental health, dental implants, Implant Dentistry, Jay Platt, Oral Health, Oral Surgeon, Oral Surgery
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