According to the American College of Prosthodontics, it is estimated that about 178 million Americans have lost at least one tooth and about 40 million people have lost all their teeth.Fortunately, at Metropolitan Dental Specialty Group, we can now replace your missing teeth with the most natural looking and feeling dental implants.
What are Dental Implants and How Do They Work?
Dental implants are screw-shaped titanium prosthetics that are implanted into your jawbone to replace the missing tooth root.
At Metropolitan Dental Specialty Group, your doctor will numb the area where the procedure is performed and make a small hole in the jawbone. The implant is then placed inside and allowed to fuse with the jawbone for a period of a few months.
Once your jawbone heals, the implant will provide a stable and secure foundation for an artificial crown.
Even though most people think that dental implant surgery is very painful, in reality it is not, thanks to improved anesthesia and sedation methods, which can help you stay calm and pain-free during the surgery.
Learning more about dental implants may also help you during your treatment process.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants offer you a range of benefits that are not provided by other dental restoration options. The most major ones are listed here:
| • | Natural Look and Feel: Dental implants look, function, and feel almost exactly like your real teeth. This is its biggest advantage since other restorative options do not provide a comfortable feel or function as dental implants. |
| • | Alternatives to Dentures: A lot of people complain about the poor fit of dentures. Dentures also do not offer the best results when it comes to chewing and speaking and they can cause sores to develop in your mouth. These issues are eliminated with dental implants. |
| • | Preservation of the Alveolar Ridge: The alveolar ridge is the bony ridge that holds the sockets of the teeth. When teeth are lost, this ridge loses its purpose and become re-absorbed into the body. In the first year, an alveolar ridge may deteriorate by 30 percent, making your cheeks sag and mouth pucker. However, since dental implants replace the tooth root and fuse with the jawbone, they are actually better for your oral health. |
| • | Easier Chewing Experience: Dentures can shift around in the mouth and make chewing difficult. Additionally, you cannot eat hard or tough food like apples and meat with dentures. Dental bridges also have the same issues since you cannot eat hard or sticky food with them. However, with dental implants, you can eat all your regular food with complete ease. |
| • | Better Speech: People who wear dentures may develop a lisp while speaking. This is because dentures feel bulky and move around in your mouth. However, since dental implants work like real teeth, you have no problem speaking with them. |
| • | Increased Convenience: Dentures have to be removed every time from your mouth when you practice oral hygiene or go to sleep. Additionally, they need to be handled very carefully or they can become damaged. You also need to soak them in water overnight and clean them separately from your mouth, which can be inconvenient. However, dental implants need to be maintained just like your real teeth. |
| • | Durability: Unlike regular dentures that need to be relined, rebased or replaced to accommodate the changing structure of your mouth, dental implants are permanent. With good oral care, these implants can last you for decades. |
| • | High Success Rate: Dental implants have a success rate of up to 98 percent which makes them brilliant tooth restoration option. |
If you have missing teeth, dental implants may be an excellent option for you. Schedule an appointment with us at (301) 585-0400 and we will examine your oral health and discuss whether or not you're a candidate for dental implants.