A great number of people are now turning to dental implants in replacing a lost tooth since that it is permanent thus more stable and looks like a real tooth.

A dental implant is a false tooth that is used to restore a missing tooth. Basically an implant is made up of a root and a crown. The implant acts as the root of the false tooth, it is made of titanium and is fused on the jawbone. The crown which is fabricated from porcelain is custom made to approximate the look of an authentic tooth.

One unique feature of a dental implant is that it is hard to detect from the other teeth, as false teeth. This is because the root of the crown is embedded on the gums and looks to be its natural outgrowth.

Another feature of dental implant is that it doesn’t cause strain on the teeth adjacent to it, in contrast to a dental bridge where the two teeth that bound the missing tooth are utilized by the bridge as anchor or support. The surfaces of these two teeth are scraped so that a cap or crown which is the end parts of the dental bridge will be placed over these two adjoining teeth.

With dental implant you feel more at ease while eating and speaking which you cannot be with dentures since it tends to move whenever you eat and whenever you speak. There’s even a possibility that it can be dislodged out of the mouth while gurgling or if it’s a single denture there’s the possibility that it can be swallowed while eating or while asleep. For those people who have been wearing dentures for quite a while now, it’s now time to replace it with dental implants which apart from being more convenient to wear, it is definitely more visually pleasing.

The dental implant procedure

The titanium implant is embedded on the jawbone through surgery. A periodontist or gum specialist commonly carry out this procedure. The implant is allowed to osseointegrate which means that the jawbone will grow naturally around the exterior of the implanted titanium. Then the jawbone around it, will be allowed to grow around the titanium implant. The process of osseointegration takes place for a period of two to six months. After the surgery swelling of the gums around the implant may occur, this is easily remedied with some pain medications. To avoid further swelling and infection, antiseptic mouthwash must be used and food intake should be limited to soft foods and soups only.

When osseointegration had already taken place, the periodontist will now affixed an abutment on the implant. The abutment will connect the titanium implant to the crown. The crown is specially fashioned to look like the remaining teeth. When osseointegration had already taken place, the periodontist will now affixed an abutment on the implant. The abutment will connect the titanium implant to the crown. The crown is specially fashioned to look like the remaining teeth.

For the implant to be successful, the jawbone have to be robust and well dense. Dental implant is a failure, if the implant was not able to osseointegrate or if the implant moves or is displaced. The possibility for failure is greater if the patient is a smoker. Hence, if you really desire to have implants, it is recommended that you give up smoking first otherwise you’ll just be losing your money as this procedure is quite pricey.|Hence, cosmetic dentists do not prescribe this to smokers, but if they do want to have implants then they need to give up smoking first, so they will not be losing money as this treatment is expensive.

Overall, the benefits of dental implants far outweigh the cost provided that your jawbones are strong and you practice proper dental hygiene.