Dental implants or implant dentures offer an excellent solution if missing teeth have altered your smile. Your Bethlehem, GA, dentist, Dr. Marlon Brown of Gateway Dental & Implant Center, helps you care for your smile with dental implants and other treatments and restorations.
Why replacing missing teeth is so important
The change in your appearance isn't the only reason to restore missing teeth. Tooth loss may affect your chewing and biting ability, cause speech issues, weaken your jawbone, or lead to nutritional deficiencies. Restoring lost teeth with dental implants enhances your appearance and your ability to eat a variety of foods, and helps keep your jawbone strong.
How dental implants work
An implant is a small tiny titanium post that's added to your jawbone during a minor oral surgical procedure. The post bonds to your jawbone and becomes the root for your new tooth. Just like your natural roots, implants are firmly attached to your jawbone.
Bonding may take three to six months but is an essential step in the implant process. After the bonding is complete, you'll return to the Bethlehem GA implant specialist dental office for an impression of your mouth and the addition of a screw-like connector to the top of the implant. The impression is used to create a dental crown that will restore the top part of your tooth, while the connector will attach the crown to the implant. In a few weeks, you'll return to the office to receive your crown.
Although you may know that a dental implant can replace a single missing tooth, implants are also a good option if you've lost all of your upper or lower teeth. If you choose implant dentures, your denture will be connected to four to six implants.
Loss of biting power can be a problem when you wear dentures. Because the posts that support implant dentures are securely rooted in your jawbone, biting and chewing hard and tough foods will be easier.
Dental implants, whether they're single implants or implant dentures, also prevent jawbone resorption for patients in Bethlehem GA. The condition causes the bone to shrink after tooth loss and can lead to the loss of additional teeth and sagging of the facial muscles in the lower part of your face. Your implants stimulate your jawbone and reduce the risk of resorption.
Most people in Bethelem are good candidates for dental implants. If you're in good oral and general health, don't smoke, or don't have an immune system disorder or take immune-suppressing medication, implants may be a good choice for you.
Replace your missing teeth with dental implants or implant dentures! Call your dentist in Bethlehem, GA, Dr. Marlon Brown of Gateway Dental & Implant Center, at (470) 524-6600 to schedule your appointment.