What Are Dental Implants and Do They Benefit Oral Health?

Contents hide

1 What Are Dental Implants?

2 What Are The Benefits Of Dental Implants?

2.1 Preserve Facial Structure

2.2 Protect Your Adjacent Teeth

2.3 Eat Comfortably And Feel Confident In Your Smile

2.4 Get A Natural Looking Smile

3 What Are Dental Implants Benefits Over Other Tooth Replacements?

3.1 References

Dental or tooth implants are small screw-like anchors that are surgically embedded into your jaw, as part of a dental implant procedure. They are used to replace missing teeth, and they can be placed as single implants or to replace an entire arch of missing teeth. Let’s try to answer the question of ‘what are dental implants’ and how they can benefit your oral health.

What Are Dental Implants?

Typically made from titanium or zirconia, dental implants are small posts that perform the job of supporting a dental crown. During dental implant surgery, they are screwed into your jaw bone and do the job of artificial tooth roots. Over a period of time, the dental implant will be integrated with your jaw, as bone will grow around it, to make it strong enough to support a dental crown and enable you to bite and chew your food with the same force as you exert with your natural teeth.

Technically, you can’t see the dental implant once it has been surgically placed, as your gum will heal around it. Once your gum and bone have healed, your dentist will place an extension piece on top and then attach your dental crown to it.

What Are The Benefits Of Dental Implants?

Preserve Facial Structure

Replacing missing teeth is very important to preserve your jaw bone. Without tooth roots in your gums, the underlying bone will start to disintegrate. This can affect your facial structure and make your cheeks appear sunken and hollow. A dental implant is currently the only way to replace a missing tooth at the root.

Protect Your Adjacent Teeth

A weak or deteriorating jaw bone can also compromise the remaining natural teeth in your arch. Without a full arch of teeth in place, the remaining natural teeth will start to drift in order to fill in the gaps left behind. This can cause them to loosen and fall out over time.

Eat Comfortably And Feel Confident In Your Smile

Eating is one of the comforts of being human – in addition to keeping us alive. Having missing teeth can make biting and chewing more difficult and even painful. A full set of healthy teeth is also something to smile about, and if you’re missing teeth in your bite, it can affect your confidence and willingness to smile.

treatment teeth implants kellyville

Get A Natural Looking Smile

Dental bridges and dentures are alternative tooth replacement options, however, neither of these is as comfortable or permanent as dental implants. It is possible to fuse a dental bridge or dentures to a dental implant for a more secure tooth replacement.

What Are Dental Implants Benefits Over Other Tooth Replacements?

Dental implants have a very high success rate of between 95 and 98% and, once they have been placed, may last for the rest of your lifetime. Unlike dentures, they cannot be removed or move around in your mouth. And, unlike dental bridges, they do not compromise the integrity of your surrounding teeth.

If you still have questions about ‘what are dental implants’ or if you’d like to find out if you are a candidate for an implant procedure, please contact us for a consultation: 02 8894 1007.