Implants

Single and Multiple Dental Implants

A dental implant is an artificial root made of surgical-grade titanium metal that is inserted into the jaw to replace the natural tooth root. The implant is surgically implanted below the gumline. The implant site heals and becomes integrated into the bone. After healing, it acts as an anchor to hold an artificial tooth, bridge or denture in place.

Dental implants are made of titanium, the same metal used in joint replacement surgeries. Titanium is a very strong, corrosion resistant, natural metal which is biocompatible with your bone. As the implant heals, bony elements integrate into the specially designed surface. The implant essentially becomes a part of your own bone. It therefore makes an ideal root replacement anchor for your missing teeth

Advantages of dental implants:

1. More Natural Feeling. Teeth replaced with dental implants offer a more natural look and feel for the patient. As the implant fuses with the bone in the jaw, the prosthesis is securely anchored with no chance of embarrassing movement of the replacement teeth. With dental implants, your teeth look, feel and function in a healthy and stronger manner.
2. Stable Dentures. If your dentures move, implants offer enhanced stability and retention. This enhanced anchorage allows you to develop improved confidence that one may not necessarily attain from a regular removable denture (no need for messy polygrip). With dental implants, patients can feel secure that their teeth will not move. There are few limits to your activities for fear of embarrassment of your denture moving.
3. Conservative Treatment. Dental Implants do not involve touching your adjacent teeth like a dental bridge would, thus being a more conservative option if your teeth surrounding the space are perfectly healthy. However, all implant surgeries involve risks and benefits. Dental bridges are more conservative in the aspect that no bone surgery is performed. Both dental implants and bridges are viable options to replace your missing teeth. Please come in for your consultation to see which option you are a candidate for.
4. No Sore Spots on dentures. Because your implant-supported replacement teeth are not resting directly on the tissue of your mouth, you are less likely to develop uncomfortable sore spots. Removable dentures (without implants) can cause inflammation of the gum tissues that are under the denture itself, primarily if not removed every night when sleeping and if not cleaned on a daily basis.
5. Maintaining good bone levels. Keeping your teeth helps to preserve your jaw bones. Once a tooth is lost, one of the major problems that edentulous patients face is the continuing loss of jaw bone. The result of all this bone loss over time is that removable dentures start fitting less and less well and it is more difficult to place a stable implant. As the tissue under the denture starts to shrink, it leaves less and less support underneath the removable prosthesis. This is when all the problems associated with an ill-fitting denture start to show. Dental implants, like natural teeth, help to stimulate and maintain bone growth around the implant. One of the most fascinating and important properties of titanium, the material from which dental implants are made, is that it attracts the growth of bone cells. See these links below for more information about how implants work.
6. Improved Chewing Function. Due to the lack of permanent anchorage, removable dentures can move or slip while eating, therefore making eating a difficult and less than desirable task. The ability to chew foods improves dramatically with dental implants because the dentures are not loose.
7. Improved Taste Sensation. A complete upper removable denture covers the entire roof of the mouth. Your tongue and the roof of your mouth are covered with thousands of tiny taste buds. Once the roof of the mouth is covered with the removable denture, food becomes less easy to taste, more difficult to sample and enjoy. With an implant-supported prosthesis, the roof of the mouth is not covered and food can be tasted by all the taste receptors in the mouth.
8. Long Lasting: With proper care, implants can last a lifetime.
9. Enhanced Phonetics & Speech. Removable dentures can slip and slide around in the mouth. A complete, upper denture, and some designs of upper partial dentures, cover the roof of the mouth. Both can result in interference with the normal phonetic movements of the tongue, causing difficulty in normal speech. Implant-supported teeth normalize speech and allow the person to regain confidence when speaking in social settings.
10. Improved nutritional uptake by digestive system. Digestion begins in the mouth. Teeth subject food to the mechanical process of grinding, breaking it down into smaller and smaller pieces. Almost simultaneous with the smelling and chewing of food, saliva is secreted and mixed. The enzymes in the saliva begin the further digestive breakdown of food. Now, if the step of mastication (grinding) of food were to be reduced due to inefficiency of a removable denture, the digestive process would be altered and food would not get properly digested further along the digestive tract. This improper digestion directly leads to fewer vital nutrients being absorbed later on in the digestive system. Nutritional balance is further indirectly enhanced by the stability of an implant-supported prosthesis. As one is more confident to enjoy a varied and healthy diet, and you are not restricted to what you can eat due to unstable removable dentures, then overall nutritional balance of the person is improved.
11. Reduction in the loss of the prosthesis. Removable dentures can easily be misplaced and lost. There are ample stories of domestic pets “eating” the patient’s prosthesis (dogs and cats are attracted to the saliva that coats the prosthesis. However, with a fixed, implant-supported prosthesis, your likelihood of loss is next to nil.

Contact Lakeridge Dental to know more about Single and Multiple Dental Implants.