There are many reasons why your oral health is better off when you preserve all of your healthy, natural teeth. One of those reasons is the fact that most options replacing lost or extracted teeth are limited in their ability to fully restore a healthy tooth’s function and place in your smile. Fortunately, dental implants can help shore up those limits by providing a more lifelike replica of your lost tooth or teeth, which includes one or more biocompatible posts to replace their roots.
Your replacement teeth need roots
The value of your teeth roots to your natural teeth and overall oral health can’t be overstated. Their most immediate and notable function is to support the natural teeth crowns that rest on top of them, giving your teeth the stability they need to absorb your bite pressure when you bite and chew. Your replacement teeth need roots, as well, to regain that same level of stability, though traditional dental bridges and dentures lack a comparable way of supporting themselves. Dental implants provide this by replacing the lost teeth roots within your dental ridge and providing anchors to keep your replacement teeth secured to the ridge.
Dental implants work for most people
To replace a lost toot root, a dental implant post has to mimic a healthy, natural one, which means it must be placed within the bone structure of your dental ridge. Once the post is in place, the surrounding bone structure will accept it as biologically compatible and fuse to the post’s surface as it heals. This process, known as osseointegration, is universal, meaning dental implant posts are compatible with everyone’s healthy, natural bone structure. This makes the root-like posts a good idea for most tooth loss patients, provided they have ample bone structure to fuse to the implants after they’re placement.
They can improve your bridge or denture
If you’ve already worn a dental bridge or denture for a while, then you may be familiar with some of its limits when it comes to restoring your smile. For example, many people experience uncomfortable shifting of their prosthesis as it loses its grip and the dental ridge changes shape. This is directly related to the loss of your teeth’s roots, which reduces stimulation in the bone structure and leads to its loss of mass and density. By upgrading your prosthesis with an appropriate number of dental implant posts, you can improve its overall comfort and function as well as eliminate the risks of it shifting when you bite and chew.
Learn if dental implants are a good idea for you
Dental implants more closely mimic your healthy, natural tooth structure, which make them a good idea for most people who need to replace one or more lost teeth. To learn more, schedule a consultation with us by calling the office of Dr. Stuart Dexter in Prairie Village, KS, today at 913-362-8200.