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Sep
Oral conditions should never be ignored, even when the condition involves tooth loss. Yes, the missing tooth is no longer a concern. What is a concern after tooth loss is the potential for tooth movements in the area of the gap and the accumulation of bacteria. Each of these secondary problems can have a detrimental impact on the smile. When options such as bridgework, dentures, and the dental implants procedure exist, you want to obtain details from your Greensboro dentist that will help you choose the treatment best suited to your immediate and long term needs.
With a partial denture, dental bridge, or full denture, it is possible to restore the look of the smile, and possibly even a healthy bite. What these forms of treatment cannot do is replicate the natural oral structure, but dental implants can. The entire role of the dental implant is to replace the missing root, achieving functionality and stability so natural-feeling that sometimes patients themselves cannot even tell their teeth are not real.
Tooth replacement with dental implants is achieved in the period of several months. This does not suggest complicated care or excessive dental care. An implant or implants, small titanium posts, are inserted into the jawbone in the area of the lost tooth or teeth in a simple office procedure. The implant will be covered with gum tissue so that it may heal undisturbed. This process in which bone tissue fuses around the titanium post, can take three to six months. After the implant has become a part of the jawbone, we can place the final restoration such as a crown, bridge, or denture.
In addition to providing the highest possible degree of functionality, implants are the only form of tooth replacement that benefits the bone. The bone tissue in the jaw is responsible for the support of teeth via their roots. This bone develops throughout childhood and the growth of permanent teeth. When a tooth is lost, the bone beneath that area breaks down naturally. The majority of bone resorption occurs in the first year and a half after a tooth is lost. The breakdown of bone tissue, however, continues in the absence of stimulation from teeth roots or an alternative. It is this degeneration that leads to the sunken in appearance most people associate with dentures.
The dental implant procedure is very straightforward, safe, and effective. To learn more about this tooth replacement treatment, call (336) 383-1482.