Dental implants have become a popular replacement for missing natural teeth—and with good reason. These restorations are the closest thing you can get to your natural tooth, as they fully restore the function of your smile and give you the most natural appearance possible.
A dental implant is a post that’s inserted surgically into your jaw with a dental crown placed onto the end. While the crown part of this restoration will need to be replaced at some point, the implant never will, making this a low-maintenance option for people who need to replace their missing teeth.
Here’s how you can replace one, multiple, or all of your teeth with dental implants!
Replacing a Single Missing Tooth
If you have one missing tooth, regardless of where it is in your mouth, a dental implant could be a good choice for you. In order to qualify for a dental implant, your dentist will take x-rays to ensure you have enough supporting bone in your jaw for the actual implant.
In the event that you don’t have enough bone in your jaw—the body will absorb bone that’s not being stimulated by a tooth over time—don’t worry. Your dentist can still conduct a bone graft to build up your jaw bone for a dental implant.
The implant will be placed first and allowed to heal before it can support a crown [1]. In the meantime, your dentist may place a temporary crown so you won’t have to go without a tooth!
Getting Multiple Tooth Restorations
Did you know you can replace multiple teeth with dental implants? You have the option of replacing each missing tooth with a dental implant, or you may also have the option of getting an implant-supported bridge.
An implant-supported bridge supports a dental crown attached to two crowns on neighboring dental implants [2]. With this particular restoration, you won’t have to get dental implants for multiple missing teeth in a row, but can still see the benefits of dental implants for some of your teeth.
A Whole New Smile with Dental Implants
If you’re missing all of your natural teeth, you may qualify for dental implants. You won’t necessarily have to get implants for each and every one of your missing teeth. You have the option of getting all-on-four dental implants.
All-on-four dental implants consist of between four to six implants placed at particular locations in the jaw which support a permanent fixed restoration that attaches to the actual implants. The benefits of all-on-four dental implants include a lower cost with the benefits of dental implants.
This restoration, just like with single dental implants, has a high success rate and is considered a viable option for patients who want to replace all of their missing teeth with dental implants [3].
Are you missing some or all of your natural teeth and looking for a replacement? It’s hard to come by a better replacement than dental implants. These sturdy, permanent restorations can give you a beautiful, functional smile with a range of options to suit your preference and budget. Ask your dentist about replacing your missing teeth with dental implants today!
Sources:
1. https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/i/implants
2. https://www.perio.org/consumer/multiple-tooth-implant
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4253293/
