If you are missing teeth, dental implants really raise above all teeth replacement options: bridges, partials, complete dentures. Unlike any other option, they replicate the entire tooth structure. They look and feel natural and proven to have a 95% success rate in the hands of a skilled surgeon. Moreover, they can completely transform your daily life.
1. Dental Implants Feel & Look Like Natural Teeth
Dental implant is not really a tooth. It is a small titanium screw placed in the jaw and you will never know it is there. It’s placed painlessly, quickly, and it takes about 20 mins to put the implant in the area that has adequate bone. Finally, your general dentist will put a crown on top of the implant and therein lies the magic! It could be a root and yet it’s a beautiful implant that really should — and potentially could — last till the end of your life. It gives you confidence, the function, and the strength that your natural teeth provide you!
2. Dental Implants Boost Your Self-esteem & Restore Your Confidence
How about some real world examples of how dental implants have boosted a patient’s self-esteem and restored their confidence? At our Norwood Park Periodontics practice, I can think of 2 in particular. One was the gentleman who had lost all his teeth and had been wearing dentures for many-many years. He was a very proud gentleman and somehow he managed to not make his significant other aware of the fact that he had removable appliances. He came to us and was looking for an alternative to see if he could get a permanent replacement for his missing teeth. When I first saw him, I told that he had to take his dentures out at night to avoid pressure on gum tissue, but he refused because he would have been mortified that his significant other would find out. The solution then was clear — we needed to provide this gentleman implants to change his life. We provided him with upper and lower implants so he never had to take out his teeth again. In the end, he was a very happy, confident man and felt much better about himself.
Another one happened recently as I had a young patient who had been in the military, and unfortunately, he never received good care. He ended up losing the vast majority of his teeth. But as a young man in his 20s, he clearly needed to live a robust and full life. The alternative was to provide implants in the specific locations necessary. We replaced all his teeth and provided the upper, lower implants, and a permanent bridge. Basically, we ended up giving him back his health, confidence, and strength. Such stories fill our practice and the success has been gratifying!
3. Dental Implants Preserve Your Jawbone & Safeguard Your Mouth Health
Let’s talk about something that you may not be aware of and that is the value a dental implant provides in terms of preserving your bone volume. People think of dental implants as the wonderful way to replace missing teeth, to support the denture, and to support a crown or a bridge. But what most people don’t understand is that the actual implant — the titanium screw that is placed in the jaw — actually preserves the bone itself! The implant absorbs and utilizes all the stress that we place upon it by chewing, talking, functioning and it results in the bone surrounding it becoming healthier and more robust. In fact, when we lose a tooth, our bone atrophies and shrinks unless we regraft and regenerate it at that moment, which of course we do. But if you don’t replace that missing tooth with an implant, the structure and the vitality of the bone shrinks as well. The implant is serving both purposes: it is not only a cosmetic and functional replacement, but it’s also preserving the strengths and the volume of bone underneath as it is absorbing all the stresses that normally would be absorbed by the bone itself.
4. With Dental Implants You Will Enjoy Your Favorite Foods Again & Save the Time
Lastly, let’s talk about a couple of subjects which are fairly similar to each other. Those are your ability to enjoy food and have healthy nutrition and how dental implants could save time in terms of routine maintenance. For those of you who have been wearing dentures or partials for quite some time, you understand the frustrating routine of placing adhesives to keep your appliance in place. Also, removable acrylic dentures modify the taste of your food and we have known how poorly lower partials and dentures fit as there is not enough surface of oral tissue to provide support that the upper appliance. All these things require you to remove your appliance in order to to clean them out which is so unpleasant. Dental implants allow you to chew and eat the foods you used to eat comfortably when you had your own teeth. One of the big problems that is often overlooked when it comes to dentures is that people don’t get adequate nutrition. Why? Because they are avoiding foods that are high in fiber, crunchy foods, proteins like steaks that require a fair amount of chewing because dentures and removable appliances don’t allow you to break these foods down. Consequently, your health suffers because your nutritional intake suffers. Dental implants allow you to have a normal diet again and foods that you used to enjoy when you had your teeth but have been avoiding for years because you couldn’t consume them adequately. Don’t let that happen! There’s a way to get back to your previous levels of enjoyment and let food become a pleasure again!
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The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.