There comes a time in many people’s lives when it makes more sense to replace teeth than to do further work on them. When this point was reached in years past, the only alternative was to fit the individual with a set of dentures. While this is still common practice today, patients do have another choice. The choice is dental implants, which can be used instead of dentures to replace individual teeth or even a full set of them.
There comes a time in many people's lives when it makes more sense to replace teeth than to do further work on them. When this point was reached in years past, the only alternative was to fit the individual with a set of dentures. While this is still common practice today, patients do have another choice. The choice is dental implants, which can be used instead of dentures to replace individual teeth or even a full set of them. Dentists and experienced patients alike prefer these alternatives to traditional dentures for a number of reasons, not the least of which are their appearance and durability, which is far superior.
While they may be preferred for many practical reasons, there are some harsh realities about dental implants. For one thing, they aren't the kind of thing you can simply have put in over the weekend. It will take some time and it will take several visits to the dentist's office to get them all squared away. First, the dental surgeon will make small holes in the jaw with a drill, allowing the titanium screws to be placed into the bone. Once this has happened, the patient must wait a period of several months while the screws are cemented in place by the regrowth of new bone. Once this period is finished, the patient can return to have their new teeth screwed in.
Dental implants are prized for their high rate of success, particularly when one realizes the level of intrusiveness it entails. More than 90 percent of procedures are completely effective and come off without incident. Nonetheless, the patient should be aware that they could fall into that 5 or 10 percent for whom they do not work. In order to avoid being part of this group, most dentists will recommend that the patient give up smoking before the procedure, as smokers have a higher risk of failure than do nonsmokers.
Once they are in, most people cannot say enough about the benefits to dental implants. They look and feel more natural than dentures, and they are certainly more durable. For many people, there is little difference between their real teeth and the new, artificial ones, which is more than anyone can say about dentures. As long as the patient is careful to observe a regular dental regimen and continues to brush and floss (to prevent gum disease), they should serve the patient for years to come.
