When you have missing teeth, this could alter your smile and even lead to a prematurely aged appearance. But we have a replacement option that can prevent these negative changes to your jaw. In today’s blog, your Irving, TX, dentist talks about how we use dental implants to help replace teeth and preserve your smile.
The Impact of Your Missing Teeth
The most obvious impact of missing teeth is the gap in your smile, which can cause embarrassment and lead to issues with your social life. But you could also develop trouble eating your favorite foods, or even speaking without difficulty. Complications like TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding) could develop as well. But since the body deprives the jaw of essential nutrients like calcium and phosphates, the bone tissue will begin to break down, leading to further tooth loss and a prematurely aged appearance too. But with dental implants, we can replace your missing teeth and also preserve your smile.
Placing Dental Implants
A dental implant is made of three major parts. The implant portion is a small screw-like post made from titanium. Since titanium is made from biocompatible material, the body will see it as a natural root and it bonds with the jaw. We then add an abutment to the post, which stands up above the gum line. The last portion is the crown, which we attach to the post. This is the visible portion of the tooth, and is custom-made to blend with your smile and offer a durable chewing surface. If you have multiple missing teeth, we could use several posts and abutments to secure a dental bridge, or even a full set of dentures.
Preserving Your Smile
The post bonds with your jaw through a process known as osseointegration. This means the body will resume the flow of calcium and phosphates to the jaw, preserving the smile and preventing further loss of mass and density. Since the jaw ridge is no longer changing with time, your new tooth or prosthetic could last much longer. Instead of 5 to 10 years, your new teeth could last for decades to come, possibly a lifetime in some cases. You can then eat your favorite foods again, and enjoy a prosthetic that never slips or requires removal for maintenance.
If you have any questions about how we treat missing teeth with advanced and lifelike dental implants, or if you want to preserve your jaw and address your tooth loss, then contact our team today.
Talk To Your Irving, TX Dentist About Replacing Missing Teeth
We would like to make sure you can always smile with confidence. To find out we restore smiles suffering from tooth loss, then please reach out to Defining Smiles in Irving, TX today at 972-717-0860.
