If you have any missing teeth, you know that they can be replaced with a bridge or a denture. But there’s a better alternative than either of these, and that’s a dental implant.

When a tooth is missing, its root is also missing. That means there are two gaps. Bridges and dentures fill the tooth gap, but not the tooth root gap. A dental implant fills the root gap in the jawbone, and holds a porcelain tooth which fills the tooth gap. This gives you a secure and permanent tooth replacement.

If the two gaps are left for very long, they will be filled, but not in a healthy way. The surrounding teeth will drift from their aligned positions to fill the tooth gap; and the jawbone will shrink inwards to fill the tooth root gap. This is called bone resorption and it will change the appearance of your jawline, making it look older.

Most cosmetic dentists do implant dentistry. They also regard patient education as being important and are very willing to answer questions and explain things. If you fully understand your procedure before you have it, things tend to go more easily because you’re more relaxed and confident about the reason for the procedure, the way it will be done, and its likely outcome.

There are three types of dental implants, but the one most often used is the root form implant.

The procedure
There are three steps.
1. The implant is positioned in the jawbone. This is fairly major surgery and several months will pass before the next step. This time is needed for the bone tissue to grow in closely around the implant, and make it part of itself.
2. In a fairly minor surgery, a small piece is added to the top of the implant. It’s called an abutment, and it protrudes through the gums to hold the new tooth. Recovery from this step is just a couple of weeks, for the gums to heal up around the abutment.
3. The porcelain tooth is attached to the abutment. This step is simple and quick.

Now the two gaps left by the missing tooth are filled, and your smile is repaired. As more people discover the amazing procedures offered by cosmetic dentistry, more are having implants. Why not check out an experienced cosmetic dentist and give it some thought?