Dental implants are the best choice to replace missing teeth. If you choose not to replace your teeth, you can develop long-term problems that affect your bite and your remaining teeth, including the possibility of losing even more teeth.
Missing teeth are fairly common, and can occur at any age. Teeth can be lost due to decay, trauma, accidents, contact sports, or other issues. The loss of one tooth might not seem like a serious issue, but if teeth are not replaced the results can be long-term problems in various areas of your mouth. Most dentists highly recommend that even a single missing tooth be replaced as soon as possible.
The first thing that happens when a tooth is missing is that the other teeth in your mouth move to fill the empty space. This moves your teeth out of proper alignment. Over time, this can lead to:
Having your tooth replaced as soon as possible will prevent these complications. Although dentures and bridges are common choices for tooth replacement, the best option is dental implants.
Dental implants provide a wide range of advantages over dentures or dental bridges. Implants are placed directly in the jawbone by an oral surgeon. Because they are made of titanium, the bone naturally bonds to the root. This natural bond means that the artificial root will stimulate continued growth of the jawbone. By contrast, dentures or bridges do not stimulate bone growth. After time, the jawbone atrophies, changing the shape of your face and making it necessary to have dentures regularly realigned or even remade to accommodate the changes.
If you decide on implants, consult with an implant dentist to be sure you have no issues or conditions that could slow your healing and detrimentally affect the success of the bonding process between the artificial roots and the jawbone.
Are you considering dental implants? Call us today at The Center for Oral Surgery of Las Vegas to talk to our experts.