If You Don't Opt For Dental Implants

Dental implants are the cutting edge devices for replacing lost teeth. Without them, problems can occur.

Dental implants are the latest and the greatest when it comes to lost tooth replacements. Individuals may lose their permanent teeth for a variety of reasons including dental decay, problems with the root systems of the oral structures, gum disease, gingivitis, accidents and injuries. These revolutionary devices offer an amazingly strong bond between the prosthetic and the jawbone.

Unlike the cements or adhesives used with bridges and dentures, implants use titanium screws that become incorporated with the bone for a permanent attachment. The crown that covers the abutment, which is the device that attaches to the titanium screw, is made of porcelain or ceramic for a natural match to the patients' enamel. While these are known to be the cutting edge method of dentistry prosthetics, some individuals may opt for not replacing their lost teeth or for going the old-fashioned route of dentures and bridges. That's their choice, but without implants, here are some things that may happen:

- Clacking and slipping: Dentures are better than nothing, but they definitely don't offer as strong a bond as the titanium root replacements. If dentures don't fit properly or if the cement or adhesive becomes loose, they will slip around in the mouth. When this occurs, a clacking sound may occur and can be an embarrassing situation.

- No steak for you: Without all of one's teeth, chewing foods such as T-bone steak will be next to impossible. Instead, lack of a full set of pearly whites may lead to softer food choices for life. This means processed foods which aren't as tasty or nutritious. If a person wants to eat chewy foods such as meat, a crunchy apple or corn-on-the-cob, he or she will need to have prosthetics that are firmly attached to the jawbone.

- Teeth in a glass of water: Soaking dentures and bridges is something wearers of the devices must do as a part of their oral hygiene routines. While this isn't the end of the world, having one's children, grandchildren or new love-of-your-life see a floating display of choppers by the bedside is less than optimum.

- Collapse of other oral structures: When one or more teeth are lost due to decay, accidents, injuries or what-have-you, it leaves a gap. A person might not think this is too terrible, especially if the lost tooth is not highly visible. Unfortunately, it will become terrible, eventually, whether it can be seen by the public or not. Each tooth is like a picket in a fence. If one is gone, the others will start to lean in and eventually collapse. This is what will happen in a person's mouth. One or two missing pearly whites will lead to more.

When a person decides to skip tooth replacement altogether or to choose outdated modes of dentistry, it can create problems down the road. Without dental implants, an individual may end up with clacking and slippage, lack of an ability to eat T-bone steaks and other tasty morsels, the embarrassment of teeth floating in a glass by one's bedside and the collapsing of the entire set of choppers.

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