Dental Implants Can Stop Bone Loss
When you have a missing permanent tooth, one of the major reasons why you should think about making an appointment with the dentist is bone loss. Once the health of your jaw bone starts to suffer, the remaining teeth in your mouth are at risk. Your other teeth may shift out of place, cause problems with your bite, or could even become loose and need to be replaced as well.
Missing teeth can change the way your smile looks and can make it trickier to pronounce worlds and articulate properly. Missing teeth that are not replaced can lead to your face changing shape and more sunken features. It is not uncommon to see these features in older people with full sets of dentures. Their faces take on a longer appearance and their lower jaw bones can start to shrink and disappear altogether.
One of the best ways dentists treat tooth loss, bone loss, and improving aesthetics is dental implants.
Dental Implants Can Stop Bone Loss
When you are talking to the dentist about replacing your missing tooth, a dental implant may be the best option for you. The dental implant has a natural look and is structurally very similar to a natural tooth. The dental implant can prevent bone loss and allow you to keep the same tooth alignment without having to struggle or negatively impact your overall health and daily life.
Dental implants are composed of three pieces. There is a post that is implanted below your gums and it screws into your jaw bone. The dentist may require the post to heal into place before moving forward with the next steps. The post is made of a material that can fuse with the bone in a process called osseointegration which can last three to six months from start to finish. Next the dentist will need to place an abutment on top of the post just above the gums. The replacement tooth or the crown will attach to the post by the abutment. When the dental implant process is complete, you will have a replacement tooth that looks like your natural teeth and functions the same way. The implanted post will act like the roots of your permanent teeth and stimulate the jaw bone. With consistent pressure and signals the jaw bone will remain healthy and not lose minerals to other parts of the body. And from other people’s perspectives, they will most likely not be able to tell which tooth is the implant and which teeth are the natural ones.
Bone Loss Is Detrimental
Bone loss all over the body is a part of the aging process, but there are ways you can slow it down and keep your bones strong. Maintaining a well-balanced diet with nutrient rich whole foods is one of the first steps. Replacing missing teeth with dental implants is a specific way to help protect your dental bones. When you have a complete smile without gaps, you will not suffer from the same puckered and sagging look that is a result of untreated missing teeth.