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How Do Dental Implants Work

Dental implants have been a successful method for over 40 years. An implanted tooth is a long-lasting discreet solution. When a tooth is missing, eating and speaking becomes more difficult, which can impact your confidence.

Dentures with dental implants are attached to your jawbone with titanium screws that replace your missing tooth root. Once the implant is fitted, the bone around it will fuse with it, keeping it firmly in place. On top of the implant, a false tooth is then placed (a crown or a denture). The false tooth will blend in with your natural teeth without impacting the size, shape, and color of your natural teeth. 

Dental implants: how do they work?

When your tooth loss is severe, you may want to ask your dentist whether dental implants are suitable for you or not. These are surgically inserted in the jawbone and replace missing teeth. Using dental implants, you will be able to replace your teeth more naturally, and a lab technician can assist you in getting the perfect match.

Dental implants are most effective when you have a healthy jawbone that is fully developed. A healthy gum line and jawbone are crucial for implant success.

How Dental Implants Are Placed

Depending on the patients’ particular dental health needs and the amount of surgery required, your dentist will schedule your implant procedure either at his/her office using local anesthesia or at a hospital with general anesthesia, depending on how much surgery is required.

Getting a dental implant involves the following three phases over several months:

  • Placement of the implant: First, you undergo surgery to have the implant placed in your jaw, where the gum tissue covers the implant and allows it to integrate into the jawbone for three to six months.
  • Attachment of Post: To attach a post to the implant, your dentist attaches a piece of metal and allows the gum tissue to enlarge around it. This process may be done in tandem with implant placement. Both the implant and the post serve as anchors to support the replacement tooth, whether placed simultaneously or not.
  • Crown attachment: A customized crown is attached to the implant post by your dentist.

Benefits of Dental Implants

  • It looks like natural teeth: After the prosthetic tooth has been fitted to the implant, the result appears completely natural.
  • Behaves like natural teeth: Implants provide a level of strength and function that is unmatched by other restorations and behave like natural teeth.
  • Prevents bone loss: You lose bone mass around the missing tooth site as a side effect of losing a tooth. Implants stimulate new bone growth by becoming integrated with the jaw bone, a process called osseointegration. As a result, future bone loss can be prevented.
  • Easy to maintain: It is easy to take care of dental implants because they should be brushed twice a day, along with regular dental checkups and regular visits to the dentist.

Dental implants are considered a possibility for nearly anyone healthy enough to undergo routine oral surgery or dental extraction. The gums should be healthy and the bone strong enough to hold the implant. In addition to brushing, flossing, using an antibacterial mouthwash, and getting regular dental checkups, dental implants require the same care as natural teeth.

Schedule your appointment with a dentist today and get the treatment on time!