Missing a Tooth? A Dental Implant Is the Next Best Thing
July 21, 2017
Conventional bridges and dentures can do wonders in restoring your confidence and ability to bite, chew, and speak properly. However, they cannot stop issues as such as jawbone degradation, which results from the absence of one or more teeth roots. When it comes to replacing missing teeth, dental implants are the only treatment option that can help address all of the effects of tooth loss, including the consequences of missing teeth roots. Because teeth roots and implant posts both help stimulate the jaw to keep it strong and healthy, dental implants are the next best thing to preserving your healthy, natural teeth.
The Specifics of Tooth Loss
Besides your confidence in your smile’s appearance, tooth loss can devastate your oral health in many ways. Without all of your teeth supporting each other, those that remain may shift towards the empty spaces to take up the slack in your bite. This movement can throw your bite off balance and cause some or all of your teeth to suffer from undue pressure. Less obvious, however, is the fact that the loss of your teeth roots, which are meant to stimulate your jawbone when you bite and chew, can lead to a gradual loss of your jawbone’s structure. If not addressed, this degradation can increase your risks of further tooth loss.
How Dental Implants Help
Dental implants are small, titanium posts that are inserted into the jawbone when you’ve lost one or more teeth. The posts serve two main purposes—supporting your lifelike dental prosthesis (i.e., crown, partial, or full denture), and stimulating your jawbone to help maintain a steady flow of nutrients. Implant posts are the only prosthetic solution that not only rebuilds your smile, but also reestablishes the full functions of your teeth.
Replacing Missing Teeth With Lifelike Dental Implants
To fully restore your smile after tooth loss, dental implants do more than just replace lost teeth, but also the vital functions of your teeth roots that help keep your jaw and teeth healthy. To learn more, or to schedule a cosmetic consultation, call Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry of Kansas City, MO, today at 816-427-4018.