The importance of one’s set of pearly whites do not weigh much until you lose it. Many people do not realize it until the very end, but once a tooth is lost, reality sets in: “What should I do now?” To be able to restore the aesthetic and function of the oral cavity, the next step is making a decision on how to replace what was lost.
Dental Implants vs Other Options
When a patient presents to the dentist the need to replace lost teeth, the option to get dental implants will be discussed. With its high cost and novelty, however, patients often have the tendency to go for the traditional options (i.e. dental bridge or removable dentures) without fully understanding what they are missing:
- Dental Implants are more stable than any prosthetic option available. The implant body (screw) embedded in the bone is made of titanium. A strong biocompatible metal, its sophisticated make up allow the complete fusion of bone and metal. As a result, you get a completely stable support for your crowns that are even stronger than the hold of natural teeth within its bony sockets. Natural teeth are merely held by fibres; successful implants achieve complete bone integration and what you have is a replacement that will perform beyond your esthetic and functional expectations.
- Dental Implants help preserve the health of bone. Following a tooth extraction, bone is expected to remodel. In an effort to fill the gap of the now empty socket, the bone changes form and resorption is observed. When implants are set to replace lost teeth, especially when it is done immediately following the tooth extraction, bone resorption is kept to a minimum. This means that you will be able to maintain the integrity of the bone, and therefore, maintain the integrity of the facial structures that depend on it.
- Dental Implants leave sound teeth untouched. Traditional prosthetics rely on the remaining teeth (and bone) to be retained in the mouth. Dental bridges make use of natural teeth to gain support and removable dentures are built with arms that hug on the curvatures of the remaining teeth. A necessary “evil”, this compromises the health of teeth. Dental implants rely on the bone to hold itself. Once embedded, it assumes the role of the roots of the tooth and it may be installed with a crown—it does not demand support from other teeth so they remain untouched and preserved.
- Dental Implants have a high success rate. As long as osseointegration is achieved (complete fusion of bone and titanium) and conditions are favourable, implants can be enjoyed by patients for a very long time. The same cannot be said about dental bridges and removable dentures, which follow a natural decline right after installation; implants that succeed are set to outlast their prosthetic competition. This means that your dental investment is very well worth it.
- Dental Implants give you the sensation of having “new teeth”. Of the different options, dental implants take you back closest to how it was when you still had the tooth you lost. The implant body assumes the role of the roots and once and abutment component is added, it may be installed with a crown. You restore the esthetic and function that was lost—and it’s as if nothing happened.
Most people are quick to reject things they do not fully understand. Although it’s been around for a while, there is more to learn about it and hopefully this has helped strengthen your decision to go for implants.