How Dental Implants Improve Your Oral Health and Smile
Nearly 160 million individuals struggle with edentulism (toothlessness). In the U.S., more than three million people have dental implants. And, the use of implants will only increase as the population grows older and the incidence of medical conditions and therapies that result in bone loss, like osteoporosis, periodontitis, diabetes, and cancer therapy increases.
What are Dental Implants?
Implants are an innovative choice for missing teeth replacement. Dental implants are posts that act as artificial tooth roots the dentist inserts into your jawbone. Once the dentist inserts them, they bond with your jawbone over the following two to three months.
After your jawbone heals, the dentist will place an abutment on top of your implant. They'll then place the new artificial tooth on your abutment. When you're smiling, the only thing people will see is the new tooth or teeth, since implants can also support a whole set of teeth.
Dental implants have quickly become a popular choice of tooth replacement treatment. One study shows a 5.7% to 23% projected prevalence of dental implants by 2026. The study shows the prevalence of dental implants among adults with missing teeth in the U.S. has increased significantly since 1999.
How Dental Implants Improve your Oral Health
Ways dental implants improve your oral health and smile are:
Better Functionality and Comfort
Implants are designed to offer patients with missing teeth a permanent solution. Once placed, implants are designed to function like your natural teeth, since after the dentist implants the artificial titanium root into your jawbone, it eventually fuses. This procedure offers a strong anchor for your replacement tooth that should last for a lifetime. You're left with a more natural feel while speaking or chewing without:
Irritation
Friction
Pain
The features of dental implants not only offer a greater comfort level but also allow you to enjoy enhanced functionality. Because the dentist embeds the implants in your sockets, they won't move or shift.
Preserves Bone Density
Once the dentist extracts your tooth, it leaves behind an empty socket and bone. The portion of this bone that was surrounding this tooth will start degenerating and weakening over time if there's nothing there supporting it. Your jawbone will eventually decrease in size, losing overall density and leading to an array of other issues. To prevent bone deterioration, implants are used to protect the area and support the missing tooth replacement.
Perfect your Smile
When you have missing teeth, it can change the way your face looks, making it appear hollow or sunken because your teeth are no longer there to fill out your mouth.
Implants help enhance your appearance because they fill your face out again. This improves your appearance, thereby increasing your confidence. Implants look just like your natural teeth, so nobody will even know you had missing teeth.
Improve your Quality of Life
When you have missing teeth, it causes self-consciousness or pain, which could interfere with your sense of self-worth and self-confidence. Over time, these types of feelings could significantly affect your quality of life.
When you're feeling good about yourself, you're more likely to engage in healthier activities like:
Not smoking
Socializing with friends
Engaging in fulfilling, meaningful activities
Do Dental Implants Hurt?
Most implant candidates question whether or not dental implants hurt. While it is a minimally invasive procedure, you should expect a certain amount of pain following the procedure.
An implant procedure involves a few steps:
First, a personalized treatment plan will be drawn up. This will allow for individualized care based on your implant option.
Next, the dentist embeds the tooth root implant into your missing tooth jawbone socket.
Then you'll go through the healing phase which could take about six to 12 weeks, where your jawbone begins growing around the implant and anchors the implant firmly into your jaw.
While you will likely experience mild dental implant pain, particularly immediately following your procedure, before your procedure, you're placed under local anesthesia, which helps prevent anxiety and pain during the process. It's not until the anesthesia wears off and your procedure is done that you'll experience any pain. You can manage this mild pain with an over-the-counter pain reliever like ibuprofen.
If you're missing teeth and would like to consult with a dental implants specialist at Charlotte Dental Esthetics, call (704) 327-3258. You can also contact us to schedule an appointment for dental implants in Charlotte.