Restore Your Beautiful Smile With Dental Implants

 

What is a dental implant?

A dental implant is a small titanium rod that’s placed in your jawbone, where it’s used to replace a missing tooth. The rod effectively substitutes as a tooth root, as it holds a dental prosthetic.

You can get one implant for a single crown, several implants for additional crowns, or two implants to hold a bridge.

What are the benefits of dental implants?

Dental implants are a great choice for improving your appearance by replacing missing teeth, but they provide other benefits, too. Implants can:

Provide a secure tooth replacement

An implant attaches a crown or bridge with the same strength and stability as a natural tooth.

Preserve alignment of surrounding teeth

When you lose one or more teeth, the surrounding teeth gradually shift their positions, moving toward the space. As a result, you develop misaligned teeth, which affects your bite. An implant prevents the problem.

Strengthen your jaw

Without a tooth root to stimulate bone production, your jawbone begins to deteriorate in that area. Implants stimulate bone growth, keeping your jaw strong.

What should you expect when getting dental implants?

Your dentist at Applegarth Dental performs a complete dental exam, including X-rays, to be sure your jaw can support an implant. In some cases, the bone may be too thin to hold an implant, but that can usually be fixed with a bone graft.

To perform a bone graft, your dentist attaches biocompatible bone grafting material to the implant area. As the underlying bone grows to fuse with the implant, the jawbone is strengthened.

When it’s time for your implant, your dentist makes an incision in the top of your gum, drills a small hole, then screws in the implant. Over the next few months, the bone around the implant regrows and fuses to the implant, creating a structure as strong as your original tooth root.

How are dental restorations attached to the implant?

The implanted rod is slightly below your gum line, so a piece called an abutment, which rises above the gum, is securely attached to the rod. Your dentist takes an impression of your mouth and sends it to the dental lab that will make your crown or bridge. When your new dental prosthesis is ready, it’s permanently bonded to the abutment.

If you have questions about implants, call Applegarth Dental or book an appointment online.