Dental Implants -- Filling in the Gaps

Everyone puts some amount of effort into looking attractive, whether they are lounging around the house after work or preparing to spend an evening out on the town. People choose to exercise, highlight or color their hair, wear makeup, or apply skin care products all in the hope that they will erase the signs of getting older. But all that effort can go unnoticed if a smile reveals missing, chipped, discolored or rotted teeth. Dental implants can go a long way toward improving a person's first impression to the world.

Accidents happen every day, and an injury to the mouth can result in the loss of or damage to the teeth. Dental trauma should be addressed with the aid of a dentist or oral surgeon as soon as possible in hope of repairing or replacing the teeth and preventing further issues in the future. The loss of a single tooth or several teeth can cause long term problems for the patient, as lack of support to the jawbone can allow deterioration of the bone to set in. This problem could eventually lead to bone and facial malformations, as well as discomfort and possible difficulty with speech, eating and other common tasks.

The loss of teeth can occur for various reasons: some of these could include different forms of trauma, poor diet, genetics, age, disease, or drug use. Unlike dentures or bridge work, dental implants offer a support system to the jawbone. Titanium "roots" are surgically inserted into the bone, replacing the "natural" roots that have been damaged or died due to disease. Dentures or bridges do not have a "root system", so the jawbone does not have any support and the lack of one will allow the onset of deterioration to begin over time. As a person ages, their appearance will shift or change in shape, the facial structure being affected by the bone loss, and this change will result in the necessity of a new set of dentures or bridge work being made to accommodate these changes.

Dental implants require an evaluation to be done of the patient's oral health prior to any procedure being scheduled or even considered for the patient. While the initial cost of implants tends to be more expensive than a pair of dentures or bridge work, the dental implants are permanent versus the dentures and bridge that will need to be remodeled as the patient ages and bone loss occurs. So, in the end, the implants may be a better investment than dentures or a bridge. But ultimately, once the evaluation has been completed by a dentist or an oral surgeon, it is their recommendation that should persuade the decision of each individual patient.