Dental Implants

Dental implants can help people attain a smile that they can be proud of. Many people are self-conscious about their smiles because of missing teeth. Missing teeth cannot only affect your smile and self-confidence, they can affect your overall health. Dental implants are often a great choice for people in these situations. Ways in which missing teeth can affect your overall health include:

· Affects the ability to chew certain types of foods. This can lead to nutritional deficiencies because of missing vitamins and minerals

· Can lead to problems with your jawbone and joints and can even cause deterioration of the bone. This deterioration can actually change the shape of your face

· Can lead other teeth to shift out of their correct position, affecting your bite and jaw alignment.

Are You a Good Candidate?

While your dentist will be able to tell you whether or not you are a good candidate for dental implants, some of the basic criteria are:

· You’re missing one or more teeth

· You have reached full maturity to ensure that your jawbone has stopped growing

· The bone structure of your jaw is good enough to support the implants

· You do not have gum disease or unhealthy oral tissue

· You don’t have any illnesses or specific health conditions which could affect healing after the surgery

· You fully understand the procedure and can invest in the amount of time it will take to complete

The Implant Process

The dental implant process is one of the slowest dental procedures, relying on time and several different steps. However, the success rate of dental implants is extremely high, so even though it takes time, the results are excellent.

When a person undergoes a dental implants procedure, there are several steps that have to be taken:

· First, the implants, which will take the place of the person’s tooth root, are surgically placed into the patient’s jawbone.

· After the implant posts are placed, the patient will need for their jawbone to heal and grow around the posts. This will permanently fuse the posts to their jawbone. This typically takes about three months.

· When the implant posts have fused to the bone, then the patient will return to have a temporary crown placed on the implants. This temporary crown is used so that the patient’s gums will heal and shape around the crown. This typically takes another couple months.

· Once the gums have completed healed and regained their shape, the patient will return to have their permanent crowns placed.

Dental implants are a much better option than using other dental devices to fix tooth loss. Once the permanent crowns have been placed, it’s very difficult to tell that they are not real teeth.

Before starting a dental implant procedure, it is important to undergo a comprehensive exam, along with education and preparation for the implant procedure.