It’s easy enough to decide that your missing teeth don’t matter than
much. Perhaps the gaps they’ve left are in the back of your mouth,
hidden away from others. However, are benefits to dental implants
besides prettying up your smile. Here are some of the reasons they
matter.
It’s easy enough to decide that your missing teeth don’t matter than
much. Perhaps the gaps they’ve left are in the back of your mouth,
hidden away from others. Maybe you just don’t really care that much
about your appearance and think having a few missing teeth adds to your
character. Well, unless your “character” is that of an 1800s era boxer
or a hobo, your feelings on the matter are debatable. What isn’t
debatable, however, is how much more there is to the benefits of dental
implants besides prettying up your smile. Here are some of the reasons
they matter.
Once a tooth has gone missing—particularly in cases where you’ve had it
extracted—you’ve fundamentally changed the support structure of your
jawbone. Don’t make the common mistake of thinking a tooth is just a
tooth. Each tooth is interconnected to the framework of your jaw,
forming an important synergy of bone. When one goes missing, the jawbone
quickly sees that its support is no longer needed in that small area.
What happens then is the jawbone begins to weaken and deteriorate. Not
overnight, but over the next months and years. It can be treated with a
bone graft if push comes to shove, but it is far preferable to stop it
before it happens.
Dental implants replace the missing teeth and can prevent the kind of
jawbone deterioration described here. Bridges and dentures can keep your
teeth from sliding and causing greater gaps, but they can’t prevent
this deterioration. Only the implant can do that, as nothing else
approximated the look and function of the tooth nearly as well. The post
replaces the root structure that has gone missing along with the tooth.
When the jawbone feels this post in place, it know it still has a job
to do.
But let’s face it, most people do care about their appearance. And
nothing else can restore your natural smile like dental implants. If
you’ve had problems with dentures before (some can’t stand the feeling),
they could be just the thing you need to return to a normal smile. But
beyond cosmetics, they will give you the ability to chew food and enjoy
your meals the way you could before you lost your teeth. They act just
like your former natural teeth in almost all ways. Best of all, though
they require cleaning and maintenance to look nice (and your gums still
need to be protected), they can’t rot or attract cavities.
