Individuals with missing teeth are often very self-conscious. Most struggle to talk or smile in front of people. They can have a hard time eating as food becomes difficult to chew. Such poor habits can result in secondary health issues. 

Dental implants serve as a restoration for missing teeth and act as artificial roots that prevent jawbone loss and support its functioning. There are different types of dental implants. They help people gain the stability and strength to chew and eat their favorite meals. These different types also help maintain and stimulate the jawbone. As a result, this upholds their facial features and prevents jawbone loss. 

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are titanium posts that your oral surgeon puts into your jawbone. Your oral surgeon inserts them below your gumline. These posts create a stable foundation to restore your teeth by fusing them to your bone. They act as replacements for missing teeth roots. 

 

Getting a dental implant also preserves and stimulates the structure of your bone. Your dentist places a crown over the implant to replace your missing tooth. Dental implants can also support many teeth using a bridge. They can also secure dentures.

How Do Dental Implants Work?

Dental implants provide support to artificial teeth by fusing to your jawbone. Bridges and dentures with dental implants cannot shift or slip in your mouth. The secure support enables them to feel natural.

 

Single Tooth Dental Implant 

Your dentist uses a single tooth dental implant when you have one missing tooth. You may want a replacement for function, esthetics, or comfort. A single implant needs one crown on top of it to act as an artificial tooth. 

 

Using a single dental implant helps preserve the adjacent teeth. Your dentist will place the implant into your jaw. The following two to six months after that will serve as a period for the post and bone to bond. Allowing time is ideal for secure support to anchor the artificial tooth. You can have a temporary tooth placed on the implant site.

 

The second step helps attach an extension and uncover the implant. The temporary cap used completes the foundation in which the dental implant is. Your doctor will give you a few weeks to allow your gums to heal.

 

Finally, your dentist attaches a crown created for you onto the metal post known as an abutment. A short period after the whole process, you will regain confidence in your smile. You can speak and eat comfortably. You can forget you lost your tooth as the implant will look and feel natural.

 

Implant-Supported Dental Bridge

Your dentist will use an implant-supported bridge if you have several missing teeth. Your doctor places one implant for every tooth that is missing. The implant holds the bridge in its appropriate position. 

 

It requires two surgical procedures. One is for embedding the implant into your jawbone, and the second for placing the bridge. The procedure takes several months to complete.

 

Implant-supported Dentures

This type takes the design of dentures placed onto implant posts for more stability. An oral surgeon puts four to six implant posts onto the jawbone. It takes three to six months to allow the posts to fuse with the bone, a procedure called osseointegration.

 

Once there is proper fusion, your dentist attaches a set of unique dentures onto the implants. Once inserted, your dentist is the only one who can remove the dentures.  

 

Your dentist must verify that you qualify for this type of implant. You need enough jawbone tissue to have the procedure. Your dentist can use artificial bone tissue or bone grafting for the process.

For more on dental implants, contact Riverview Dental at our office in Corunna, Michigan. You can call 989.743.4851 today to schedule an appointment.