Earlier this month, I published a blog about the difference between dental implants and removable dentures. If you read that blog entry, you learned a great deal about how dental implants can restore your smile and give you back your chewing force.

Our office uses dental implants for patients with single missing teeth, multiple missing teeth, or even those who have lost all of their teeth. For patients tired of their removable dentures, we can place multiple dental implants around the arch. The method is known as All-on-Four dental implants, and your final restoration will leave the palate open, allowing you to taste more of your food.

A lot of patients come into my office wondering about the specifics of dental implants. It’s hard to boil down every advantage of having dental implants, but I have five important facts you need to consider.

Here are five facts you need to know:

1. Dental implants have 90 percent of the biting force of natural teeth. This may seem like an arbitrary number to you now, but it’s not. There is nothing better than your natural teeth. That’s why we work so hard to restore your teeth. But, in the event you lose your natural teeth, you’ll need a replacement option. Removable dentures can fill the gap caused by missing teeth, but they provide only about 35 percent of the biting power of your natural teeth. As you can see, nothing compares to the strength of dental implants.

2. Dental implants merge with the jawbone. Dental implants are made titanium posts and placed in the jawbone. We use titanium because it naturally merges with the jawbone. This is a process known as osseointegration. Once the implant is placed, the jawbone begins to grow around the implant, creating the security for a restoration. We typically wait a few months for the implant to heal before we place any permanent restorations.

3. Dental implants can be placed with a 95 percent success rate. We dentists first began offering dental implants in the 1960s, and, as with other forms of science and medicine, the technology has changed for the better over the years. Today we have new dental implants, called root-form dental implants. Our implants have the extremely low failure rate of 95 percent after five years. Before placing the implants, we carefully vet each patient to make sure their mouth and body will accept the dental implants.

4. If might live longer with dental implants. You learned earlier in this article that dental implants have about 90 percent of the chewing of your natural teeth. That’s important because dental implants allow you to eat a host of food you would have otherwise had to avoid if you have removable dentures or no teeth at all. Dental implants allow you to expand your diet. With a broader diet, you can better maintain your nutrition and overall health. Some dental studies have shown that people without teeth can decrease their lifespan by more than 10 years. Many patients select removable dentures because they are less expensive, but in that case, you’re literally putting a price on your health.

5. Implants preserve your jawbone. Because dental implants merge with the jawbone, they also inhibit the jawbone from receding. Jawbone recession is common after you lose a tooth or multiple teeth. You see, your teeth are secured by the jawbone. So without teeth in the mouth, the jawbone loses it’s main function and begins to deteriorate. As part of the recession, the patient’s face will begin to change shapes, and you’ll often develop wrinkles around your mouth. Jawbone recession also makes it difficult to find a comfortable fit with your removable teeth. People with removable denture often experience sores in their mouth because of the ill-fitting dentures.

These are five of the most important facts you need to know about dental implants. Our dental team can place implants in a single visit! You don’t have to walk around with gaps in your smile or terrible dentures any longer. Give us a call today at 248-329-3552
and set up an appointment.