When it comes to replacing a missing tooth, most people have more than one treatment option to choose from. Perhaps you can get a traditional bridge or a partial denture. For those of our Houston, Texas patients who qualify for a dental implant, this is, by far, the best tooth replacement option.
What Is A Dental Implant?
Much like a tree that has roots embedded in the ground, our natural teeth are held in place by roots that are fused to the jaw bone. A dental implant is a threaded post that, when inserted into the bone, represents a natural root. Attachments are placed over the implant and then a dental crown (artificial tooth) is fitted over the top.
What Makes Dental Implants the Best Tooth Replacement Option?
Dental implants are top-of-the-line in tooth replacement options because:
Implants Are Permanently Fixed: Implants stay in place and don’t move. Unlike with other tooth replacement options, there’s no need to remove your implant at night or worry about it falling out while you’re speaking or eating.
Longest Lasting Option: When taken care of properly, dental implants have the potential of lasting the rest of your lifetime. Other tooth replacement options will need to be replaced every 15 years or so.
Implants Don’t Affect Other Teeth: Dentists don’t like to do unnecessary work to natural teeth that don’t have anything wrong with them. A dental bridge, a very traditional form of replacing a missing tooth, requires just that. Dental implants allow us to make a stand-alone tooth restoration that doesn’t affect any natural teeth.
Implants Provide a Natural Appearance: Implant posts are embedded into the jaw bone. Therefore, they don’t show above the gumline. The crown that’s placed over the implant is custom made to match the shape, shade, and size of your surrounding teeth. When made properly by a Houston implant dentist, no one will be able to tell that you have an artificial tooth in your mouth.
Implants Feel Comfortable: When you run your tongue across an implant crown it’ll feel just like your natural teeth. Also, you won’t constantly be aware of metal hooks, or thick acrylic in your mouth that make your gum tissue sore, because they won’t be there.
Implants Don’t Affect Your Speech: Bulky partials and dentures in your mouth can affect the way you speak. Certain words, particularly the ones with the letter ‘s’, can be very difficult to pronounce. Since implants are fixed and don’t take up any more room than a natural tooth, having your speech impaired isn’t a side-effect of this treatment option.
Implants Don’t Affect Your Taste Buds: In addition to being bulky, the acrylic from standard tooth-replacement plates cover your taste buds and affect the way you enjoy your food. Again, since dental implants use crowns, and not acrylic teeth and gums, this isn’t something that you have to worry about.
Dental Implants in Houston, Texas
To learn more about dental implants in Houston and to see if this tooth replacement option is right for you, give North Houston Dentistry a call. We’d love to see you!
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