Dental implants are natural-looking dental prosthetic devices that replace missing teeth. Each dental implant consists of a screw that serves as the root of the tooth, a dental crown that replaces the natural crown, and an abutment that is a connector between the crown and the implant screw. Dental implants are used for a variety of reasons and to help with several everyday actions, and a few are listed below:

Replacing a Lost Tooth

A dental implant allows you to replace a lost tooth without negatively impacting healthy adjacent teeth. On the contrary, dental bridges require the filing away of adjacent teeth so that crowns can be placed over them to stabilize the fake tooth in the center of the bridge.

A dental implant is held in place by the jawbone through a process called osseointegration, which allows the fusion of the jawbone with the implant screw. The metal used for the screw is generally titanium since it is a nonreactive metal.

Preventing Teeth from Shifting

Natural teeth are placeholders for the other teeth that are adjacent to them. When a tooth is removed, a space or opening is left that allows the adjacent teeth to shift. This can cause a domino effect that results in general misalignment of the teeth.

The dental implant replaces the missing tooth and holds its place so that adjacent teeth are less likely to drift out of position.

Chewing

The mechanical function of teeth is generally mastication. When you chew, your food is broken down into smaller particles so that more of the food's surface area is in contact with digestive enzymes.

With an implant, the grinding ability of a missing molar or the tearing ability of a missing incisor is restored.

Speech

Missing teeth can also make it difficult to form your words in a way that is easy to understand. The tongue and lips use the teeth as a barrier to press against as words are formed. Lingual clarity often suffers when teeth, especially front teeth, are missing.

Denture and Bridge Support

Sometimes, multiple teeth are missing. Dentures and dental bridges may be better options than implants to replace a large number of teeth at once. However, these devices often require dental support for stabilization. If there is no natural tooth available for support, your dentist may suggest a dental implant.

Dental implants offer many of the same benefits as natural teeth. If you believe that you may benefit from an implant, contact a dentist in your area today.