The Whole Tooth and Nothing But the Tooth

Numerous adults lose one or more of their teeth over time. Tooth loss not only affects an adult's smile, but it can also affect their diet and way of life. If you lost a tooth in the past, it isn't too late to replace the tooth with a dental implant. Learn about tooth loss and how dental implant surgery works to fix it below.

How Does Tooth Loss Make You Feel?

Tooth loss can have a big impact on your ability and willingness to smile around other people. Smiling not only has health benefits, but it can also improve your personal experiences and feelings. However, tooth loss may make you feel less inclined to smile in public or in private situations.

Tooth loss may also weaken the skin around your mouth, chin, and jawline over time. Along with the jaw, teeth keep skin from sagging or prematurely aging. When you lose some of your front or back teeth, the skin on your face loses the support it needs to stay firm and resilient. Loose skin may make you appear significantly older than you are in reality. Tooth loss can have other detrimental effects on your life as well. Single-tooth dental implant surgery can help improve your quality of life.

How Does Single-Tooth Dental Implant Surgery Work?

Single-tooth dental implant surgery works well for adults who have only a few missing teeth to replace. A dentist will evaluate your mouth prior to beginning the treatment process. The evaluation can help determine whether or not you:

• possess enough bone tissue in the treatment site to place the implant right away
• need to make room in your mouth for the dental implant
• require treatment for anything that may affect your implant placement, including gum disease and infection

If you don't have any of the dental issues above, a dentist will begin the placement process. A dentist will generally drill a small opening in the empty tooth socket prior to installing an implant inside it. Bone tissue can close up over time. 

After a dentist opens up the tooth socket, they'll install the first piece of the implant inside it. Dental implants normally come in two separate pieces: an implant post and an abutment. The post is the portion of the implant that sits inside your jawbone or tooth socket. The abutment is the tiny cap that goes over the top of the post. After the post and abutment heal properly, a dentist will cover them with a dental crown or cap.

Dental implant surgery can involve other steps you may need to know about. For more information about these steps, contact a dentist online or by phone today.