Dental Implants

Did you know that if you have a missing tooth, you are in the majority of adults? ⅓ of Americans have lost at least one tooth by the time they reach the age of 50. By the age of 50, most Americans have lost as many as 12 teeth. Tooth loss is a problem for all American adults, but there are solutions to tooth loss. If you are one of those people who have lost teeth, we have several solutions. One of those solutions is a dental implant. Dental implants are a great way to restore the look and feel of natural teeth. Let BayView Dental take a minute to talk to you about dental implants.

What Are Dental Implants?

Sometimes people think of dental implants for cosmetic purposes only, like breast implants. But dental implants are different because they not only can make you feel better about yourself and increase your self-esteem, they can be life changing. Some of our patients who have received dental implants, which are porcelain caps with a screw that screws into your jawbone, discuss that they feel like smiling for the first time in years. They laugh on dates, and grin in photos with their families. People can eat what they want and speak clearly for the first time in years.

What’s So Great About Implants?

Implants are great for several reasons. First, because implants screw into your gums and down to your jawbone, they mimic real teeth so much they are able to fool your body. Your jawbone believes your tooth is still there, so you don’t lose crucial jawbone. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is important. If you don’t replace your missing teeth, your jawbone will weaken, because your body thinks you don’t need so much bone mass. This weakening can make your jaw more prone to crack or break and can even change the shape of your face.

With implants, blood can also continue to flow to your gums, which keeps them strong and healthy. If you have healthy gums, your overall dental health will be better. Another great thing about dental implants is that they can be customized to your mouth. We can replace one tooth, several teeth, or all of your teeth using the implant system.

How Are Implants Placed?

To place implants, we make an incision along your gumline, so that we can place a screw where your tooth used to be. We screw the screw into your jawbone. Sometimes, we can attach a temporary tooth that day. In some cases, we have to wait for your incision to heal. Then we can place the tooth cap over the screw, and you are done. You are then able to use your teeth just as you did before. Even if we replace all of your teeth, those implants don’t ever come out, and they don’t have to be removed.

Do you want to begin a new life with teeth? Are you thinking about implants? If so, give BayView Dental a call at one of our 7 convenient locations now!