Some people consider dental implants the greatest development in modern dentistry.
It’s easy to see why. No other teeth replacement option provides as much of a benefit as dental implants do.
People have been working on tooth replacements for thousands of years. Ancient civilizations used what was available to them. Some used ivory and animal bones. Some use rocks and seashells. Sometimes, people even used teeth that had to be removed from the deceased.
With time, people developed better materials to make dentures, dental crowns, and dental bridges. But something was missing from all of these replacement options.
None of them replaced the roots of our missing teeth … until dental implants were developed. Implants are one of the many services we offer at Holladay Dental Studio.
We see this as an important part of comprehensive dental care for any patient who visits our dentist office, whether they live in Holladay, Salt Lake City, or somewhere in between.
Three Ways Implants Could Help You
Dental implants are a great way to restore the function of your lost teeth, but they also can prevent you from losing more teeth in the future.
First, a dental implant can replace a single tooth.
When you lose a tooth, you lose the whole thing, the crown (the part you can see) and the root (the part hidden behind your gums). Your root is embedded in your jawbone. When the root is removed, it can hurt the jaw, too.
The root provides pressure each time you chew on something. This encourages new growth in the jaw, and that helps your jaw retain its shape. Without the root, the jaw can begin losing bone mass. Over time, this can affect the neighboring teeth as well.
By replacing the lost root with a dental implant, your jaw will receive the stimulation it needs to grow new tissue and remain strong. A dental crown can be added to your implant so your smile looks complete, and you are able to chew as well as you could before you lost your tooth.
What if you lose multiple teeth? This is the second way that dental implants can help.
Dental implants can be used to support a dental bridge. This kind of bridge spans the gap in your smile, and it is made of multiple dental crowns that have been joined together.
Depending on where and how big the dental bridge is, you may need one or multiple implants to support your bridge. In any case, your implant-supported bridge will be just as effective as a dental crown at restoring the form and function of your lost teeth.
The third way implants can help is with implant-supported dentures.
You can lose every tooth in your mouth, but still be able to eat the foods that you love with implant-supported dentures.
Multiple studies have been done that show these dentures can restore nearly all the bite force of someone with a full set of healthy, natural teeth. Traditional dentures may only restore one-fifth or one-sixth of your original bite force.
How To Get Dental Implants
Many people are curious about the procedure for getting dental implants.
It starts by coming to our office for a consultation. We must examine the health of your mouth to determine if you are healthy enough and have enough bone mass to support implants.
This is a good reason to visit us soon after you lose your tooth or teeth. Remember, the longer you wait to replace your missing teeth, the more bone density you will lose. If you don’t have enough bone mass to support implants, we can discuss your options at that time.
Assuming you are eligible to receive implants, we will schedule an appointment to place them. We will need to make an opening in your jaw for each implant.
Please keep in mind that we offer sedation dentistry and other ways of blocking you from feeling any pain during your implant placement.
You will need some time to heal after your implants are placed. Then, we will be able to attach your dental crown, dental bridge, or dentures.
Enjoy Breakfast … And Lunch … And Dinner
Alligators and sharks can regrow missing teeth. Humans can’t, but dental implants are about as close as we can get to doing just that.
Dental implants can fill in the gaps in your smile and restore your ability to eat all the foods that you enjoy eating. Our dentist office is just a short drive from Salt Lake City if you would like to find out more about how implants might be able to help you or someone you love.
To make an appointment at Holladay Dental Studio, fill out our online form or call us at 801-997-1137.