Dental Implants Are a Permanent Alternative to Dentures
If you are wearing dentures, dental implants are an alternative solution that look and feel like natural teeth. While dentures are practical and provide patients with the appearance of a full set of teeth, they never feel quite natural. Implants, on the other hand, feel the same as the rest of your teeth so there is no way to tell which teeth are natural and which teeth are replacements.
Over seventy percent of adults over the age of sixty-five experience some form of tooth loss. Even young adults suffer from this age old problem, with around thirty percent of those over thirty five suffering from tooth loss. If this happens to you, it is important to decide how you want to replace the missing tooth. An experienced cosmetic dentist can help you to determine which solution will best fit with your lifestyle and the goals you have for your appearance.
Dental implants are ideal for people that have an active lifestyle and don’t want their teeth to slow them down. Once the implant is installed, patients can eat all of their favorite foods, speak normally, and care for the implant as they do the rest of their teeth. This is a brush and go solution because as long as remember to practice good oral hygiene at home, along with visiting the dentist twice a year, you will never have to think about your replacement tooth again.
How the Process Works
In order to receive dental implants, you need to schedule a consultation with an experienced dentist. The staff at Texas Dental West are experts at using this technology and able to determine if your gums and jawbone are in good enough health to schedule the procedure. If they are not, there are specific dental treatments that can get them ready.
During your examination, a mold will be taken of your mouth so that the lab can create a synthetic tooth, or teeth, that is the right size and shape to blend in with your other natural teeth. If you want to have your teeth whitened now is an excellent time to do so because the synthetic tooth will be made to match your natural ones.
The first step in the procedure is to have a titanium post implanted under the surface of your gums. This piece will be secured to your jawbone and eventually the two will fuse together, creating an extremely durable synthetic root system. An abutment will be attached at the surface of your gums. Once the gums are healed the new tooth will be attached and put into position. This allows a cosmetic dentist to create a perfectly straight beautiful smile that looks and feels amazing.
The entire process takes several months since your gums and bone need to heal after the implant procedure. During that time, you may want to wear temporary or immediate dentures so that no one will know that you don’t have a full set of teeth. To learn more about the process or to schedule an examination, call Texas Dental West today.