The Whole Tooth and Nothing But the Tooth

If you have one or more missing teeth, talk to your dentist about dental implants. Implants are almost as good as natural teeth since they have a root in the form of a post and a tooth in the form of a crown. This allows an implant to function and look like a natural tooth. Here are four times dental implants are beneficial.

1. When A Missing Tooth Affects Your Smile

If you had to pull a front tooth or the tooth got knocked out, you may be self-conscious about smiling. A missing front tooth affects the aesthetics of your smile when the gap is visible. If you want to have a smile that's more appealing to you, then an implant can help. The crown fits in the gap naturally so it looks like a real tooth. Plus, implant crowns are often made from porcelain, which looks like natural enamel. No one may even know the dental implant is not real.

2. When Your Teeth Are Shifting

A problem with a missing tooth is the teeth on the sides of the gap may start shifting. This could cause problems with chewing and being able to do proper dental care. A dental implant is firmly attached to your bone, so it won't shift. The implant fills the gap in your teeth to keep other teeth in their natural spaces so they won't shift out of alignment.

3. When You Want To Prevent Bone Loss

Depending on where the missing tooth or teeth are located, the loss of those teeth could cause your skin to sink in and make you look older. This problem is compounded when the bone in the gap starts shrinking. The bone needs stimulation that comes from tooth roots. When a tooth has been pulled, there are no roots to stimulate the bone and keep it from shrinking.

If you have an implant put in, the post that's screwed into your bone acts like roots and provides stimulation that keeps the bone from shrinking, and this could preserve your facial appearance so the area around your mouth looks full rather than sunken.

4. When You Want Support For Dentures

If you wear dentures and can't tolerate them because of soreness, discomfort, or not being secure, implants can help. It's important to get a good fit for your dentures so you don't have problems with soreness, but even dentures that fit well might fly out of your mouth when you least expect it. You may need to wear denture adhesive and feel uncomfortable with it.

The best way to keep dentures in your mouth is to secure them with dental implants. Implants eliminate the worry of dentures falling out when you bite something tough or when you laugh. Dental implants can make dentures more like your natural teeth since the implant teeth are attached to your bone. You probably won't need an implant for each tooth since a few implants can support all the teeth needed for dentures. 

For more info, contact a local company like Christiansen Dental.