Why Dental Implants are the Best Choice for Replacing Missing Teeth
Jul 11, 2023
If you’re missing teeth due to common causes like dental decay, gum disease, or trauma, you’re not alone. Studies show that 178 million adults living in the United States are missing at least one of their teeth, so having missing teeth as an adult is not an uncommon issue.
There are a myriad of options for tooth replacement due to the fact that tooth loss is indeed so widespread. For many years, dentures and bridges have been the go-to solution for adult tooth loss, but dental implants are on the rise. Three million Americans are currently living with dental implants, and that number is only projected to keep growing.
At Llanos Dental Group located in Miami Lakes, Florida, Laura Llanos, DMD, and the rest of our team want you to know why replacing your teeth is so important and why dental implants are the best choice to replace them.
Having even one missing tooth can have serious implications for the health of your mouth and jaw. When you’re missing a tooth, it can lead to the following complications:
Your jawbone can also start to deteriorate due to what’s known as bone resorption — a process that causes your body to absorb unused jawbone.
Over the course of your life, your body is always absorbing old cells (resorption) and making new ones (ossification). The only way your body knows to make new cells for your jawbone is when your teeth stimulate your jawbone when you’re biting or chewing.
So, if you’re missing a tooth, your jawbone is no longer being stimulated in that area, meaning that old cells are absorbed but no new cells are put in their place. Your jawbone then starts to slowly become more and more absorbed, resulting in a changed facial structure.
All of these factors are what make replacing your missing teeth so important.
When you picture a tooth, you probably only envision the crown — or the portion that’s visible. However, this only makes up one-third of your tooth. The rest is made up of the root, which hides underneath your gums. The root is what anchors your tooth to your gums and stimulates that jawbone growth that’s so important.
Dental implants are the only treatment option for missing teeth that offers more than just crown replacement; they offer root replacement as well, meaning that stimulation of your jawbone is still possible.
Not only do dental implants continue to promote new jawbone growth, but they also address many other concerns that come with missing teeth. Dental implants allow you to take great care of your other teeth, not to mention they’re comfortable, durable, and confidence boosting.
If you’re ready to replace your missing teeth with dental implants, contact our friendly staff online or by phone today to set up a consultation to see if you’re a good candidate for this procedure.