Despite good dental care, people lose teeth for any number of reasons - decay, periodontal disease, trauma, etc - and previously this loss was remedied by way of a bridge or dentures or just having an empty space. Today, advances in dental technology have made dental implants one of the most successful and permanent procedures performed today.
When a tooth is lost, its most obvious effect is the cosmetic impact, but it affects your overall health on a much wider scale. Most certainly the impact of a missing tooth can be devastating to the self confidence of anyone who is used to smiling and talking in public, but there are several even more severe results that can appear over time. For example, biting and chewing difficulties can lead to a change in eating habits and result in poor or even malnutrition. Additionally, the loss of teeth often effects your bite and can, in some cases, lead to more significant problems such as TMJ (pain and tenderness of the temporomandibular joint or jaw).
Although there are a number of options for restoring missing teeth, none has been shown to be as durable or as functional as dental implants. Implants are much stronger than bridges or dentures and offer a closer integration between the implant and the dental tissues and bone structure. Initially, the implant is screwed into the supporting jaw bone, but over time, it becomes directly anchored right into the jaw. This is why implants are such a seamless restoration because, over time, they actually become part of your mouth, and are virtually indistinguishable from your other teeth.
Because this anchoring is necessary for the success of the implant, whether or not you are a candidate for an implant depends of the health of your surrounding tissues and bone. However, with advances such a the narrower "mini implant," and earlier intervention, more and more patients are finding they are candidates for implantation. The implant is usually done in just one visit, making an implant even more affordable and easier than ever. Once the implant has successfully anchored in the bone, the procedure is completed with a permanent crown, restoring your mouth to all of it's previous function and sparkle.
Dental implants are the most successful dental procedure performed today, with lower jaw implants hitting a 95% success rate and upper jaw implants just slightly less so at 90%. More and more people are finding that implants are a simple and proven solution to tooth loss, regardless of the nature of the original problem. Ask us for more information!