What is the Dental Implant Procedure?

The dental implants dayton ohio is considerable different from the conventional dental bridge. Growing in popularity for a number of reasons it is the closest thing today to having a natural tooth. Let’s look at the reason behind having a dental implant, the procedure itself, and then the benefits to pursuing an implant.

The Reasons for having a Dental Implant

If you have experienced an unfortunate accident and suddenly lost a tooth, or if you and your dentist made the collective decision to have a tooth extracted, that missing tooth creates a gap. A gap in your smile but more importantly a gap in the bite pattern of your teeth. Over time the neighboring teeth will shift or drift into that gap changing your bite. You may also experience a speech difference and of course there is the self-esteem issue with your changed smile. You will be advised to fill that gap and your choices are with a dental bridge, which is an artificial tooth in the gap cemented to the two neighboring teeth, or a dental implant.

The Dental Implant Procedure

If the implant route is the agreed upon solution the process starts with an x-ray to confirm what is going on below the surface of the gums. The first step is to surgically drill a hole in the jawbone. Once the hole is finished a titanium post will be placed into the hole. It will now take several months for that post to grow or graft to the jawbone. The second step is to add an extension to the post. This extension is called an abutment. The abutment gets us up to the gum line. The third and final step is to cement a porcelain or ceramic artificial tooth on to the abutment. This tooth, or crown, is fabricated at a dental lab and when placed will look just like a natural tooth. Just like that you have a replacement tooth. The time between visits to let the process evolve depends on how quickly
the post grafts and how quickly your gums heal. This will vary patient to patient.

The Benefits to having a Dental Implant

Originally discovered back in 1951 dental implants have really grown in popularity in the last 25 years. There are now over 500,000 implants placed every year. The benefits of the dental implant start with their totally natural look. They are permanent and will improve your speech and improve your self-esteem. Because they literally become part of you they are comfortable. Eating and biting becomes easier. They are durable with a life expectancy between 10 and 25 years. Although they are permanent and with the post grown to the bone sometimes stronger than a natural tooth the crown is made of porcelain or ceramic and will not hold up to chewing ice or pencils as well as a natural tooth. If you exercise common sense and practice good oral hygiene you will be very happy with your dental implant and the procedure to get it will all be worth it.

More on Dental Implants :  Dental Implants vs Dental Bridges