Dental Implants: Why They are the Gold Standard for Replacing Missing Teeth

While your adult teeth are designed to last your life, sometimes decay or trauma renders you in need of a replacement. There are plenty of options for the job, but none come close to delivering today’s dental implants’ aesthetics and function.

At Signature Smiles Dentistry in Parker, CO, Nate Gunning, DDS, provides his patients the very best in dental care, including dental implants. Dr. Gunning explains why dental implants are the gold standard for replacing missing teeth.

Bone-deep

Among the key reasons dental implants are superior to other replacement options is that they are permanently implanted into your jaw bone. When you lose a tooth, you lose more than just what’s visible. Below your gum line, your tooth root goes into your jawbone, where it’s anchored in the bone for stability.

Your jaw bone is living tissue and responds to use. When you chew, you send a signal to your body that the area is active, so it responds by continually rebuilding and repairing the bone as needed to keep up its strength. 

When you lose the root of your tooth, your body no longer receives a signal that there’s any activity in the area. As a result, it no longer sends resources for rebuilding and repair, and the bone begins to deteriorate. Once this occurs, it can create a chain reaction of oral health issues. As the bone caves, neighboring can become loose and fall out, eventually affecting your outward appearance, giving you a sunken-in look.

With a dental implant, a titanium post is surgically embedded into your jawbone, becoming the root of your new prosthetic tooth. The existing bone in the area grows up and around the new addition, securely fusing it into place. And because the bone remains active with the new post, your body works to keep the post in place with strong and healthy bone tissue.

Securing the line

A titanium post is surgically embedded into your jawbone with a dental implant, becoming the root of your new prosthetic tooth. However, when you replace your missing tooth (or teeth) with an implant, you maintain its counterparts’ positions, keeping all of your teeth in line to prevent larger problems down the road.

A permanent solution 

Because your dental implant replaces your tooth from your jawbone on up, it provides stability well beyond other replacement options such as bridges and dentures. 

What’s more, dental implants are designed to last a lifetime. Since the post becomes fully integrated into your jawbone, you should not need it to ever be replaced. The custom crown used to replace the visible portion of your tooth – that sits atop of the post – might need a replacement after 10-15 years.

Keeping it clean

Dental implants require no additional care than your natural teeth. That means brushing twice daily, flossing at least once, and maintaining bi-annual professional dental cleanings and checkups.

To learn more about dental implants, and all of your oral health care needs, contact the Signature Smiles team today at 720.513.8405.