How Dental Implants Can Improve Your Smile and Your Oral Health

Losing a tooth is a time for joy if you’re 6 years old and anticipating a visit from the tooth fairy, but not so much if you’re an adult. Missing teeth cause a host of dental and self-esteem issues, and the gap caused by one or more missing teeth shouldn’t be ignored.

Amazingly, over 120 million people in the United States are missing at least one tooth. A successful treatment for missing teeth that’s safe and lasting is the dental implant, win which a metal post that serves as the root of your toot is placed in your jawbone. It’s also the anchor for a crown, which is the visible part of your tooth and looks like your real tooth. 

An implant also has a connective component called an abutment, which attaches the post and the crown. 

Dr. Jarred Donald has vast experience placing dental implants and offers the most advanced implant procedures to patients in need of this excellent solution to address a single missing tooth — or multiple missing teeth. Dr. Donald and his team at Cisco Dental in Cisco, Texas, are caring, excellently trained, and accomplished in delivering this and a wide range of other treatments to their many satisfied patients. 

Dental implants solve both oral health and cosmetic challenges

Dr. Donald frequently favors dental implants for missing teeth because they offer a significant number of diverse advantages to patients. These solutions are two-pronged in that an implant prevents serious dental issues that missing teeth can cause and beautifies your smile, making it complete once again.

Tooth loss usually stems from tooth decay, periodontal disease (when infection and inflammation cause your gum to pull away from your tooth, causing it to loosen and fall out), or traumatic injury. 

A missing tooth or teeth pose serious risks to your long-term oral health. You can experience problems chewing and speaking, and your teeth can shift, which causes alignment problems and bone loss in your jaw.

The costs of missing teeth are great psychological as well. A gap-filled smile hurts your self-esteem, and you may not want to expose it, and a missing tooth can lead to facial sagging, making you look older than you are and bringing an asymmetrical appearance to your face. 

Dental implants protect your dental health and boost your confidence

Dental implants aren’t only highly successful in as many as 98% of patients, but they also provide solutions to the health risks associated with missing teeth and help you feel better about yourself — and your smile. 

First, the physical health benefits of dental implants include:

• Preventing speech problems
• Enabling you to chew well and eat any foods you like
• Preventing jaw deterioration 
• Stopping decay issues that come with the tooth shifting that missing teeth cause
• Warding off more tooth loss by giving surrounding teeth a solid foundation
• Preserving your facial health and symmetry

Now, let’s think about the self-esteem piece of getting a dental implant to fill in an oral gap. An implant completes your smile, and when your crown is placed, it’s made to match your real teeth exactly, so no one can tell your smile is made up of anything but your real teeth.

If you have gotten into the habit of concealing your smile because you feel embarrassed by your missing teeth, getting a dental implant eliminates this stress completely, giving you a 100% gorgeous smile you can be proud to show off!

What’s involved in the dental implant procedure? 

Our patients who receive implants are often pleasantly surprised by how comfortable and streamlined the process is. 

The first step of getting an implant is when Dr. Donald places the small titanium post into your bone socket, using local anesthesia so you’re completely comfortable throughout the procedure. After placement, you need a healing period of about 6 to 12 weeks so your jawbone can grow around the post. 

After healing is complete, Dr. Donald installs your abutment, the piece that connects your implanted post to your crown. If you have multiple teeth being replaced, you may get separate implants attached to crowns or one implant connected to a bridge. 

Caring for your implant is simple. Just brush and floss it as you would your real teeth, and you can also use an antibacterial mouthwash. With this type of care, your implant lasts a very long time. The titanium implant can last a lifetime, while you will likely need a replacement of your crown every 15-20 years. All in all, an implant is an ideal long-term solution to missing teeth.

We’re eager to speak with you about how a dental implant might be the solution for you. Simply call our office at 254-442-2000 or book an appointment online.