While bridges and removable dentures offer quality tooth replacement, dental implants offer a host of additional benefits for a smile’s health and appearance. For our Astoria, NY, patients with minor or advanced tooth loss, dental implants can help secure long-lasting and lifelike replacement teeth. In today’s blog, we’re going to look at the benefits of replacing missing teeth with dental implants.
The Benefits of Dental Implants
- Stop the Loss of Additional Teeth: Did you know losing a single tooth could start a chain reaction that increases the risk of further tooth loss? Once we lose a tooth, the body no longer feels it necessary to supply the jawbone around the tooth with certain key nutrients. Without these nutrients, the bone tissue itself begins to break down and deteriorate, a process that could cause additional missing teeth and an older appearance. However, since we insert them into the jawbone like natural tooth roots, the body resumes the flow of these nutrients, preserving the tissue and facial structure in the process.
- Last Longer Than Bridges or Removable Dentures: Having a dental implant inserted into the jawbone, bonding with the bone tissue and acting as a new tooth root, ensures they last much longer than traditional prosthetics. While effective, bridges and dentures may need to be replaced after about 10 years. However, with proper care and attention, your new teeth could potentially last decades.
- Addressing Advanced Tooth Loss: They’re not just limited to addressing one missing tooth at a time. If you have serious gaps in your smile, or even total tooth loss, we still have implant-secured options available. We may use them to secure a bridge or to even provide a fixed denture that never slips and lasts significantly longer than removable alternatives.
- Look Natural: Once the dental implant portion bonds with the jawbone tissue, we add an abutment to hold a dental crown in place, or we attach the completed prosthetic. We create them based on detailed images and digital impressions taken of your smile. We match them to the shade of surrounding teeth to ensure they blend seamlessly.
- Easy to Maintain: You care for them as you would a natural tooth. Which means routine brushing and flossing helps reduce plaque buildup and safeguards your new teeth against periodontal disease. You also need to have them cleaned and examined every six months. If you have any questions about addressing tooth loss, or if you would like an appointment to see if implants are right for you, then contact our team today.
Let’s Address Your Missing Teeth
We want to offer strong and durable options to address your tooth loss. For more information on implant dentistry, then schedule a consultation with us by calling Jeffrey Leibowitz, DDS, in Astoria, NY, today at 718-728-8320.