Tooth loss can be devastating. Whatever the reason behind it, it can have serious consequences for your confidence, for the health of your remaining teeth and, in cases of multiple tooth loss, can restrict your diet and limit your speech.
There are several causes of tooth loss. Whilst dental decay and gum disease are the two most common, accidents and injuries can also play a role. If you knock out a tooth, you should contact an emergency dentist, because they can sometimes re-implant the tooth in the socket with prompt intervention.
If the tooth can’t be put back in the socket, a replacement is needed. This could take the form of a traditional dental bridge, but for a more long-term solution dental implants are often the best possible option.
Staplehurst Dental Practice in Kent has carried out many successful dental implants treatments, and can use these small titanium tooth roots to replace anything from one to all of your natural teeth.
Whilst some people describe dental implants as replacement teeth, they are more accurately replacement tooth roots. The roots of the teeth play an important role in the preservation of the healthy and vitality of the jaw bone, as well as holding the teeth firmly in place.
When the jaw bone starts to resorb, traditional dentures start to become loose, whilst the entire structure of the face can be altered, making you look old before your time.
Using dental implants helps to keep the jaw bone strong and healthy. New teeth attached to them will stay securely in your mouth at all times, with no danger of them becoming loose as long as you look after your oral hygiene.
Depending on your clinical need, implants will be combined with a single crown, bridgework, or dentures. After implant surgery, a healing period is required, during which osseointegration takes place. This sees your implants mesh firmly with the jaw bone to provide a natural-acting anchor for your new teeth.
Temporary teeth are often fitted during this healing period, before your permanent teeth are attached when integration is complete.