Let’s face it: toothless grins are only cute on babies.
Many people believe the only reasons for replacing missing teeth are cosmetic, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are numerous benefits to using dental implants to replace missing teeth, and we’re going to share five of them with you today.
Dental implants reduce the load on your other teeth.
Other options of replacing missing teeth include bridges and overdentures. While these can be viable options in some cases, they have their setbacks. One advantage to dental implants it that they create independent retention and support — like a natural tooth root — rather than having to depend on adjacent teeth to support the restoration.
Healthy bone structure is preserved with dental implants.
When you lose a tooth and you don’t replace it, your jawbone believes it has fulfilled its duty and it begins to degenerate. Over, time, bone strength and density are compromised. A dental implant in place of a missing tooth doesn’t just preserve bone, it stimulates it.
Dental implants can preserve health of adjacent teeth.
While a bridge can be used to replace a missing tooth or teeth, it requires removing healthy enamel from the adjacent teeth and placing crowns on them to support the bridge. Dental implants have zero impact on your healthy teeth.
Implants prevent adjacent teeth from drifting and supra-erupting.
Many people believe replacing a missing back tooth is unnecessary because few people will notice it. The truth is all of your teeth perform specific functions and they need each other. They help keep each other in their proper positions. A missing tooth leaves space for adjacent teeth to drift into. A missing tooth also eliminates the support once given to its upper or lower counterpart. With nothing to hold it in place, the tooth opposite the missing tooth can “supra-erupt.” This can lead to periodontal issues, bite problems and abnormal tooth wear.
Dental implants offer a level of freedom unavailable with other replacement options.
Dental implants are the next best thing to natural teeth. They are the most predictable permanent solution to restoring missing teeth. You never have to remove your implants and soak them in a cup at night. No food is off-limits. Your speech isn’t impacted, unlike when people get used to wearing dentures. You’ll never deal with tooth decay in an implant-restored tooth. Simply brush and floss routinely and maintain your routine dental checkups and professional cleanings, and you should be able to preserve your smile for life.
Restore Your Smile Today
If you are among the more than 178 million people in the United States who is missing at least one tooth, you could be a candidate for dental implants. Tewksbury Dental Associates dentists Dr. Joel Spiller and Dr. Neil Epstein have extensive experience in placing implants, and Dr. Nitish Nahata, Dr. Zack Goldman, and Dr. Alexis Cenami are skilled in the art of restoring dental implants. Please call our office today to schedule a consultation: (978) 851-7890.
