Dental Implants

Dental implants have actually been around for over 60 years, but were not commonly used until recently due to advances in dental technology. An implant is basically a titanium screw that replaces the root portion of your tooth that is present in your jaw. The screw gets integrated into your jaw bone and becomes part of your mouth. A porcelain crown is placed in the area that the tooth was previously occupying, creating a natural looking smile. These implants are used to replace missing teeth in a patient's mouth, and are an alternative option to dentures or bridges.

Many individuals have dental implants placed when they prefer not to have neighboring teeth trimmed down and polished for a crown and bridge. When a patient is missing just one tooth, they can have an implant placed there as an alternative to crowns or partial dentures. If you wear regular dentures or have a bridge, you're causing more damage because the forces are directed onto your bone that is in the jaw. With dental implants, the forces are taken by the implanted cells instead. Dental implants can last twenty to thirty years, as long as they are properly maintained and there is no damage from bacteria and improper home care and hygiene. Also on the market are mini-implants. These are specifically for patients who have lost all of their teeth in their lower jaw, which causes their dentures to be unsupported because they have lost bone support as well. Mini-implants take less than an hour to install, and then a small clip is integrated into their dentures to stabilize their dentures and make them stronger so that the patient can bite and chew like they had their own natural teeth. The investment is not like traditional implants because you are not going through the lab work materials and costs.