RSS Feed
Showing posts with label Tooth loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tooth loss. Show all posts
TOP

Tooth Loss and Dental Implants

Posted by min2interface in Labels: , , , , , ,

Losing a tooth is no fun, whether it's due to injury, medical problems, or just bad luck. If you've lost a tooth, one of the most functional and durable options for replacement is a dental implant. Dental implants are artificial teeth used by dentists to replace missing teeth.

Tooth Loss

Teeth can be lost for many reasons including decay, root canal failure, excessive wear and tear and congenital defects. If you've lost a tooth, you may find yourself feeling self conscious about your smile or its affects on your speech. Missing teeth can also cause problems with your bite and capability to chew comfortably.

While bridges and dentures are great options for replacing missing teeth, dental implants have the advantage of strength and durability. Implants are a permanent solution. They can be used alone or in conjunction with other treatments like bridges to provide the maximum benefits for your mouth.

Unlike a bridge, dental implants generally do not require any reshaping of the surrounding teeth. Dental implants also integrate into the structure of your jaw. There is no worry of bone loss or gum recession, which can occur with bridgework and dentures.

When are Dental Implants Beneficial?

Dental implants are not for everyone. A good candidate for dental implants will be in good health with healthy gums. Your dentist will evaluate your bone structure to make sure that there is enough healthy bone to anchor the implant in your jaw.

If you're looking into a dental implant, you must be committed to taking consistently good care of your mouth. Daily brushing and flossing, as well as regular dental checkups, are vital.

Though most adults are good candidates for dental implants, there are some cases in which they might not be the best option. If you are a smoker, that can impede health in your mouth and reduce the likelihood of a successful implant. People with uncontrolled chronic diseases or diabetes may not be good candidates due to healing problems of the gum tissue affected by the surgery.

Preparing for and Receiving Dental Implants

If you and your dentist have decided that an implant is the best option, the first step will be preparing your jaw for the implant. In general, there are several parties involved. In addition to a general dentist, you may need a restorative dentist to make the crown, and an oral and maxillofacial surgeon will perform the surgical procedure to place the implant.

Dental implants are generally made up of a titanium material screw that is fixed in your jaw, and a crown on top. In order to place the implant, the oral surgeon will drill a small pilot hole into your jaw where the tooth is missing.

After the hole has been drilled, it is slowly widened to allow the implant screw to be placed. Once the screw has been placed, a protective cover will be placed on top. The implant will need time to anchor, and for osseointegration to occur. Osseointegration is the process that occurs when the bone in your jaw is allowed to grow around and anchor the implant.

Once the site has healed, which generally takes three to six months, the protective cover is removed and a temporary crown is placed. The crown allows the gums to grow and shape themselves around the implant the same way they would around a natural tooth.

The last step is removing the temporary crown and replacing it with a permanent crown. Once the crown is in place your dental implant will look and feel like a natural tooth.

Success Rate of Dental Implants

Dental implants are one of the most successful procedures dentists perform. The success rates are as high as 90% for upper jaw implants and 95% for lower jaw implants.

The most common reason that dental implants do not succeed is when the osseointegration process does not work. This can happen for several reasons, including bad positioning of the implant or poor healing. Like natural teeth, implants can break or become infected, so good oral health and hygiene is important.

If you have a missing tooth, the greatest benefit for your mouth can be found by replacing it as soon as possible. Asking your dentist about dental implants is a great place to start.

Brian Benko created Find A Dentist to help people find the best dental services in their home area. Head over to Find A Dentist to search your local area for dental services. If you're a dentist, contact Brian for valuable advertising space.

Bookmark and Share
80 comments
TOP

What Does The Procedure Involve?

Posted by min2interface in Labels: , , , , ,

Dental implants

Dental implants are designed to replace natural teeth that have been lost from trauma or disease. Because the implant is fixed firmly to the bone, implants offer superior strength and durability. Better yet, dental implants look and function just like natural teeth. They can also be used to support a single crown or as anchors for fixed bridges. Rowen Dentistry can also restore your existing dental implants.

Health risks and dental implants

According to the American Academy of Implant Prosthodontists, implants are made of biologically compatible materials which have undergone extensive testing over a period of several years. Since these materials are largely metals, such as titanium, and have never been living tissue, there is no likelihood of causing an antigen-antibody response which could cause rejection similar to that which sometimes occurs with heart and kidney transplants.

The need for tooth replacement

Teeth confer quality of life. They enable you to eat, speak clearly and smile. Your teeth are an important part of your personal charisma and appearance. Teeth also give you security and selfconfidence but most people take this for granted until they lose or severely damage a tooth. Despite the improvement and progress in oral health in the United States for example, 7% percent of young Americans have lost at least one permanent tooth by age 17, Among adults aged 35 to 44, 69% have lost at least one permanent tooth. As many as 26% of adults aged 65 to 74 have lost all their natural teeth1. More recent estimates indicate that 33% of the US population over 65 years of age currently suffer from a lack of teeth2. The percentage has dropped considerably over the past five decades but the baby-boomer generation is reaching age 60. Although the percentage has been falling, the absolute number has remained the same or has increased slightly, both in the US and in Europe. Edentulism therefore poses a substantial problem and is even classified as a disability in the US.

The loss or absence of teeth, be it through dental disease, accident or congenital defect, not only affects a person’s appearance, it also detracts from the ability to eat and enjoy food.

Loosing teeth also affects a person’s speech and, perhaps most importantly, the inability to eat properly can have significant further health consequences. Fortunately there are replacement solutions. For almost 30 years, dental implants have offered a scientifically proven means of replacing teeth fully. Implants can be used to replace one or more missing teeth or to anchor dentures securely and make an important contribution to improving patients’ quality of life.

Why are dental implants the right choice?

Single-tooth gap










Conventional tooth replacement methods rely on using available to teeth to support a bridge. In a single-tooth restoration, for example, the healthy neighboring teeth on each side of the gap have to be ground down to carry crowns, which are bridged together with one or more false teeth. The crown-and-bridge unit is subsequently cemented onto the ground tooth stumps.

Conventional crown-and-bridge treatment









The dental substance removed by grinding is lost permanently. With implant solutions, however, it is not necessary to grind the neighboring teeth because the implant replaces the root of the missing tooth and acts as a support for the tooth replacement. Implants thus provide dental replacement solutions that are widely regarded as the closest thing to natural teeth.

Implant-based treatment










Single-tooth replacement









Multiple-tooth replacement with two implants and a bridge


Bookmark and Share
8 comments
TOP

Dental Implants

Posted by min2interface in Labels: , , , , , , ,


There are a lot of people that are looking for some way to fix the way their smile looks everyone want to have a movie star smile. Dental implants can help a person get the smile that they always wanted with just a few procedures. Dental implants are the first technological advances in dentistry to allow the permanent, natural, and stable replacement of teeth lost to accident, injury, or disease. If you are looking to improve the way your smile, consider getting dental implants.

Why do we need to replace missing teeth?

Our teeth are an important part of our digestive system as it is needed for chewing food. It plays a role in speech .It is also an important part of our appearance. Finally, it prevents gaps and spaces from appearing between our teeth when a tooth is lost.

What are the advantages over conventional replacements?

The conventional methods of replacing missing teeth are Bridges or Dentures.

Bridges usually involve sticking false teeth onto our existing teeth. This may involve filing down healthy teeth to act as retainers which may compromise the health of these teeth. Bridges can also only be provided when there are sufficient strong remaining teeth. They are however a permanent replacement, although they are likely to need replacement every 10 to 15 years.

Dentures are teeth attached to a plastic or metal plate. They can often be cumbersome as they have to be taken in and out every day and for cleaning. They may not always retain in place well if the shape of the gums and bone in the mouth is not appropriate.

Though bridges and dentures can serve us satisfactorily, Dental implants provide better support and usually results in more comfortable and stable replacement teeth. It provides better chewing efficiency and allows us to have permanent fixed teeth without trimming our own natural teeth for support, or having to remove the teeth every day. Implants also slow down the shrinkage of our jawbone which occurs as a result of tooth loss.

Are dental implants dangerous to health?

The materials used chiefly titanium is almost never rejected by the body. These have also never been a report of it being the cause of cancer or any life-threatening disease.

Advantages of implants over dentures 

For some people, particularly persons with loose or poor fitting dentures due to flat ridges, or persons with multiple missing teeth who need support for crowns and bridges, implants may be considered a more appropriate alternative to fix the appearance of missing teeth than dentures. According to the American Academy of Implant Prosthodontics, implants help to accomplish the following :

  • Reduce movement of dentures, bridges, and/or crowns
  • Facilitate proper chewing
  • Provide support and improved stability for removable dentures or fixed bridge work
  • Approximate the "feel" of natural teeth better than dentures
  • Promote "denture self-confidence", as speech and appearance are often improved


Bookmark and Share
5 comments
Join My Community at MyBloglog!