Missing teeth is something that can affect anyone at any age. It can happen as you put years behind you or due to injury, to name a few. Regardless, a gap in your smile can make you look older than you actually are. A great way to replace them is with the help of dental implants. They give you your bite back while helping you regain a bit of your youth. Here are four ways they do this.
1.) Avoid Facial Collapse
Jawbone loss is associated with missing teeth because the roots are no longer stimulating the bone. With every bite and chew you do, that pressure tells your body to send essential nutrients to keep it strong. When that is taken away, your jaw can start to weaken as those minerals are reallocated elsewhere. This can make your cheeks look sunken in and give you additional wrinkles, both seen as signs of aging.
With dental implants, they effectively replace the root with a post! They’ll give the stimulation that was lost, keeping your jawbone healthy and your face full.
2.) Reduced Wear and Tear
When you lose a tooth, your other teeth will need to pick up the workload that was placed on that structure. You may have to chew for longer, which can increase wear and tear. Your smile may be at a higher risk of damage, causing you to undergo more treatments to fix chips and cracks. However, with implants, that daily pressure from eating gets redistributed evenly across your smile.
3.) Keeps Other Teeth in Place
It’s common for teeth to shift after you have lost one of them. They move to close that gap, but this can lead to misalignment or over-eruption of the tooth across from it. These can make you more prone to some oral health issues, but dental implants stop this. This replacement option keeps its neighbors in place, so you avoid this issue.
4.) Have a More Confident Smile
By getting a full set of teeth, you can also start to feel more confident! Everything above combines into a treatment that helps you regain your best grin. Your bite will be strong and stable by using your jawbone as a foundation, ensuring you don’t have any slippage or need to prepare food in certain ways, unlike with dentures. Instead, you can eat, laugh, and show them off with those around you for a lifetime with proper care.
About the Author
Dr. Robert Saphner earned his dental degree at the University of Minnesota. He has since taken over 500 hours of continuing education and earned a dental implant fellowship. This has given Dr. Saphner the ability to do this tooth replacement in-house, so you stay with the same team throughout your treatment. If you want to get back to a full smile you love, schedule an appointment or call his office at (608) 668-6415.