Why Dental Implants Are The Best Way To Replace Missing Teeth
DENTAL IMPLANTS
Dental implants are widely regarded as one of the best options for replacing missing teeth due to their numerous benefits and long-term advantages. Here's a detailed account of why dental implants are considered the superior choice:
1. Natural Appearance and Functionality
Aesthetic Appeal: Dental implants closely mimic the appearance of natural teeth. The prosthetic crown is designed to match the color, shape, and size of the patient's natural teeth, providing a seamless and aesthetically pleasing result.
Functional Restoration: Implants are anchored into the jawbone, providing a stable and secure base for the replacement tooth. This stability allows for natural biting and chewing forces, comparable to that of natural teeth.
2. Durability and Longevity
Long-lasting Solution: With proper care and maintenance, dental implants can last for several decades, often a lifetime. This longevity surpasses other tooth replacement options like bridges and dentures, which may need to be replaced or adjusted more frequently.
Material Strength: Implants are typically made from biocompatible materials such as titanium, which are resistant to corrosion and capable of withstanding the forces of chewing.
3. Bone Preservation and Stimulation
Prevention of Bone Loss: When a tooth is lost, the underlying jawbone can begin to resorb or deteriorate due to lack of stimulation. Dental implants stimulate the bone tissue because the titanium post integrates with the bone in a process called osseointegration. This helps maintain bone density and volume, preventing the sunken appearance often associated with missing teeth.
Support for Facial Structure: By preserving the jawbone, implants help maintain the facial structure, preventing the sagging or aging appearance that can occur with bone loss.
4. Improved Oral Health
Preservation of Adjacent Teeth: Unlike traditional dental bridges, which require the reduction of adjacent teeth for support, dental implants do not compromise neighboring teeth. This helps maintain the health and integrity of the surrounding natural teeth.
Easier Oral Hygiene: Dental implants can be cleaned like natural teeth, without the need for special adhesives or cleaning solutions often required for dentures. This simplicity in maintenance helps prevent oral health issues such as gum disease and cavities.
5. Comfort and Convenience
Natural Feel: Because implants are integrated into the jawbone, they provide a stable and comfortable solution that feels like natural teeth. Patients often forget they have implants because there is no discomfort or sensation of a foreign object in the mouth.
No Dietary Restrictions: Dental implants allow patients to eat a wide variety of foods, including those that are hard or sticky, without worry. This contrasts with dentures, which can sometimes slip or cause discomfort with certain foods.
6. High Success Rate
Proven Track Record: Dental implants have a high success rate, typically over 95% for healthy individuals. This success rate is due to advancements in implant technology, surgical techniques, and pre-implant assessments that ensure the patient is a suitable candidate.
7. Versatility and Customization
Various Applications: Dental implants can replace a single tooth, multiple teeth, or even support a full set of dentures (known as implant-supported dentures). This versatility makes them a suitable option for a wide range of dental restoration needs.
Customization: The prosthetic crowns, bridges, or dentures attached to implants are custom-made to fit the patient's mouth perfectly, ensuring a comfortable and natural fit.
8. Psychological and Social Benefits
Improved Confidence: The natural look and feel of dental implants can significantly boost a patient's self-esteem and confidence. The worry of dentures slipping or falling out during social interactions is eliminated.
Speech Improvement: Unlike dentures, which can sometimes impair speech, dental implants do not affect pronunciation or enunciation, allowing for clear and natural speech.
9. Reduced Risk of Oral Infections
Stable Oral Environment: By maintaining bone structure and preventing the shifting of adjacent teeth, dental implants help create a stable oral environment. This stability reduces the risk of infections and complications often associated with other tooth replacement methods.
In conclusion, dental implants are the best way to replace missing teeth due to their natural appearance, durability, bone-preserving properties, and the overall improvement they offer in oral health, comfort, and quality of life. They represent a significant investment in long-term oral health and well-being.
When is the best time to get an implant surgery?
A Dentist that specialises in dental implants will decide the best treatment plan for you, but generally speaking, the best time to get your dental implant is as soon as you lose your natural teeth. In our clinic, we sometimes opt for immediate extraction and simultaneous placement of implant, sometimes, your Dentist might decide to wait for healing at the site of an extracted tooth first and the plan the surgery. In some cases, your dentist will also give you temporary teeth for either aesthetic purpose only or fully functional ones during your treatment plan.
When might a dental implant not be suitable for you?
I'm sure you've heard most dental clinics that can provide dental implants to always suggest the same for missing teeth, but there are still times when an implant is not a suitable option for you. Let's take a look at when that might be:
When there is no bone available to place an implant: Bone loss is what happens when you lose a teeth, this bone loss can cause further implications when left untreated for a long time. As bone resorption takes place, your jaw may just not have enough bone to support an implant. You Dentist may consider opting for a bone graft in such cases but a consultation is what will confirm what treatment options you have.
If you've been wearing dentures for a long period, including bridges, there's not enough stimulation for your bone to not experience resorption, thus, making it quite difficult to place an implant, although it is not entirely impossible.
Kids have a growing jaw structure, hence implants are not suitable for them.
Cannot be done on patients who are on Bisphosphonates (generally used by rheumatoid arthritis patients)
Mentally retarded patients as these patients may not be able to maintain proper oral hygiene, resulting in chance of implant failure.
Patients that do not maintain a standard oral hygiene.
If a patient has an active infection inside their mouth/bone. Your Dentist might need to treat that infection first before placing an implant.
I hope this blog post has helped ease some burning questions you might have had in your mind about dental implants. Planning to get an implant? Consider getting it done by someone who has been specializing in dental implant and has years of experience. Visit our clinic today or book a consultation.
MEET THE DOCTOR
Dr M. Hasan has been practicing since 2007. He began his own practice in 2008. He has been successfully practicing implantology since 2012. He completed his practice from C.C.S University and has studied implantology from Singapore.
