How will dental implants affect my life?

tooth implant Las VegasIf you have one or more missing teeth, getting a tooth implant can greatly improve your quality of life. With your new tooth or teeth, you can smile, eat, and talk with confidence, as well as maintain the overall shape of your face by avoiding long-term bone atrophy.

Why It’s Important to Replace Missing Teeth

The loss of even one tooth can have numerous long-term effects on your health. If one tooth is missing, other teeth will shift to fill in the extra space. This can cause misalignment, which can in turn lead to accelerated wear and tear, temporomandibular joint disorder, and even eventual tooth loss. If you have your missing tooth or teeth replaced, you can greatly reduce the likelihood of developing these problems.

Many people feel that replacing a single missing tooth is merely a cosmetic issue. However, the loss of a tooth can cause many additional problems. If you are uncomfortable when you talk, smile, or eat, your quality of life can be severely affected. If you wear a denture, you might also have difficulty eating fresh fruits and vegetables, which can affect your health by depriving you of vital vitamins and minerals.

Advantages of Dental Implants

Dental implants can help you avoid all these problems. Unlike a denture, an implant replaces the entire tooth, including the tooth root. The new, artificial root holds the tooth stationary no matter what you eat. It also helps to stimulate natural growth in the jawbone. With dentures, the jawbone typically experiences long-term atrophy. This reduction of jawbone mass can change the shape of your face and give you a “shrunken” look.

Other advantages of dental implants include:

  • They look and feel completely natural
  • They remain stationary in your mouth
  • They can be used to anchor individual teeth or a removable denture, depending upon your personal needs

If you have any missing teeth, you should talk to our oral surgeons about your suitability for dental implants. Call our office today!