If you are missing a tooth, it may affect your self-esteem and make you less confident in your smile. This can affect you socially—at work and in your personal relationships. Besides affecting your self-confidence, a missing tooth can also affect your overall oral health.
Dental implants can offer a chance to get back the smile you used to have, or give you the smile you’ve always wished for. Dental implants are not only a physical transformation but an emotional one—the self-confidence a patient can gain can significantly impact their personal and professional interactions. It can also greatly enhance their quality of life.
The team at Hite Family Dentistry, your family dentist in Evansville, Indiana, specializes in dental implants to help patients with missing teeth regain their confidence and their smiles.
What are dental implants?
When a person loses a tooth due to an injury or a disease, it can cause many complications, like rapid bone loss in the jaw, changes to chewing patterns that can cause discomfort, and even affect speech.
A dental implant is a device that is surgically placed in the jawbone in place of a tooth’s original root. A dental abutment is then attached to the implant, which can be likened to a screw. A dental crown is then placed over the abutment, which looks and functions like a natural tooth.
Dental implants can help improve your overall dental health by:
- Keeping adjacent teeth stable
- Restoring the ability to chew and bite properly
- Restore the appearance of the smile
- Keeps the jawbone from shrinking due to bone loss
- Preserves the health of surrounding bone and gums
- Improves the quality of life, allowing you to eat and speak normally
If you are missing a tooth, reach out to Hite Family Dentistry to schedule a consultation to see if a dental implant could be right for you.
What is the dental implant process like?
A dental implant is designed to look and act just like a natural tooth. It fits in place of a missing tooth. The first step to getting dental implants is an oral health evaluation. Your dentist will discuss your smile goals with you and determine whether you are a candidate for an implant. If you have any gum disease, this must be addressed prior to receiving your implant.
The implant itself is made of medical grade titanium and is fixed permanently into the jawbone. One of the benefits of an implant is that it will actually stimulate bone growth. This is one of the biggest benefits of a dental crown (other than the many other obvious benefits!) because resorption of bone causes instability for your other teeth, causing them to shift and loosen, and it physically affects your appearance, causing a sunken-in look. If you have a missing tooth for a while, this bone resorption may have already occurred. Your dentist will discuss options, such as a bone graft, to ensure you can go ahead and get the restored smile you deserve.
Implants require surgery to embed them into your jawbone and, as such, the recovery time can take a few months. This period is critical for osseointegration, where the bone in your jaw fuses and grows around the implant, further increasing its stability.
Once your jaw has had time to heal, your dentist will craft a custom crown to fit over the implant. This custom dental crown will look just like a regular tooth in size, shape, and color.
Once the dental crown is in place, you’re ready to smile and get back to your normal life. Your dental implant functions just like a normal tooth, so you will be able to eat, brush, and talk like normal. One of the benefits of a dental implant is that it is impervious to cavities and tooth decay—although this is not an excuse to ease up on your oral health regimen because the gum and surrounding tissues can still be negatively affected by bacteria.
Regain your smile.
If you are considering dental implants as a way to fix your smile and regain your confidence, you’ll be happy to know that dental implants have an extremely high success rate.. Most people prefer dental implants over traditional dentures because implants are a more permanent solution. With implants, you don’t have to worry about what you eat or having your dentures become loose or fall out while you are trying to get through a meal.
Dental implants are also a great choice because of their durability. Dental implants are made with biocompatible materials that won’t harm your body, and if they are taken care of, can last a lifetime. Other dental appliances may need to be replaced or adjusted over time, but with dental implants, only the dental crown that covers the implant will need to be replaced, but if you take care of your teeth, the dental crown can last up to 15 years or more.
Are dental implants right for you?
If you are missing a tooth and it is affecting your self-esteem, book a consultation at Hite Family Dentistry in Evansville, IN. Our team is specially trained in cosmetic dentistry procedures and can help you choose the best procedure to reclaim your smile. Make sure to contact us today if you are ready to take the next step in boosting your self-esteem and making your smile dazzling once again.
