Implanting Confidence With a Smile

A healthy smile is a priceless attribute. But missing teeth or those that need to be extracted because of disease, misshapenness, or being broken or chipped make it difficult for most people to smile without feeling self-conscious.

Implants vs. Alternatives

While crowns, fixed bridges and removable dentures serve their purpose, they do run the risk of failure. All three develop problems due to the gums naturally shrinking as a person ages.

· Dentures slip occasionally during eating, laughing, or speaking. Sometimes they embarrass the wearer by causing clicking sounds and they can even lead to the eventual loss of bone. And if full dentures are worn, the portion of the upper plate that covers the palate may affect the taste of food.

· Crowns and bridges encounter problems due to tooth decay in natural teeth and to periodontal disease, and bridges often adversely affect the natural teeth surrounding them. Bridges and removable dentures rarely last longer than 15 years.

Dental implants avoid these problems by the way they are created and designed to work. By being anchored in the jawbone instead of attached to other teeth or slipped into the mouth, implants replace not just the root of the natural tooth, but its crown, as well.

A Two-to-Three-Part Procedure to Permanence

An implant consists of three parts:

1. The dental implant cylinder, which is surgically placed deep within the jawbone

2. The abutment (or post), also surgically placed and which in attached to the top of the implant cylinder, protruding through the gum

3. The crown ( prosthesis), which is the artificial tooth

These three implant components are usually placed during separate visits to the dentist, which allows the all-important function of osseointegration (bone growth around the implant) to take place. Sometimes the cylinder and post can be implanted during a single visit.

A Lifetime Bond

Osseointegration is the term for the very strong bond that develops between the titanium implant and the bone that surrounds it. It’s because of this affinity between the two that titanium is used for implants. Although it sometimes takes up to six months, osseointegration must occur first between the bone and the implant cylinder, and then between the bone and the post. Usually, this bonding and necessary healing is completed more quickly with the post than with the cylinder. This fusion is the action that makes dental implants so successful and differentiates the procedure’s success rate from that of crowns, fixed bridges, and removable dentures.

Because complete osseointegration can take several months to occur, this makes dental implants a time-consuming procedure. But with a success rate approximating 95%, almost all people who undergo it agree the method is worth the wait. People willing to commit to the time, exceptional oral hygiene necessary for success, and the expense, are rewarded with looking better, feeling better, and living better.

Today, people can and should, if possible, enjoy the advantages of advanced technology, materials and procedures. Dental implants restore a smile to its healthy, beautiful best – and bring along the sense of security and life-changing self-confidence that goes with it.

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