Losing teeth can be difficult. You may feel embarrassed or ashamed of how those missing teeth affect your smile, and you may feel discouraged when trying to eat certain foods. Or, you could do something about it like getting dental implants to restore your smile and your bite.
At Hampden Dental Care, Dr. Edlund, our dentist, has helped patients in and around Lakewood, CO, reclaim what was taken from them when they lose one or more of their teeth.
Dental implants were created to replace the roots of lost teeth. They can be used with teeth replacements that replace the missing crowns to restore the full function and appearance of your missing teeth.
To get started,make an appointment by calling 303-647-1907. Until then, consider three reasons dental implants should be part of your teeth replacements.
▸ 1. Dental Implants Provide Stability
A patient who is missing a whole row of teeth often will get dentures to replace those teeth. Traditional dentures rest outside of his or her gums. This leaves them prone to slipping out of place, and that slippage becomes more common the longer he or she has those dentures.
To replace one or a few teeth, traditional dental bridges are made by grinding down the teeth on either side of the gap in the patient’s smile. The bridge is bonded to those teeth.
While bridges are less likely to come loose than dentures, they are still being held in place above the gumline.
Dental implants are embedded in your jawbone — just like the roots of your healthy teeth. Each implant has an abutment end where you can attach a dental crown, a dental bridge, or dentures.
Typically, you use multiple implants to hold bridges and dentures in position. By anchoring your replacement teeth to your jaw, you can feel more confident that they will stay in place when you are speaking, eating, singing, or anything else.
To learn more about dental implants, call 303-647-1907 for an appointment with Dr. Edlund.
▸ 2. Dental Implants Add Strength
If you were building a fence, would you rest the posts above the ground, or would you make a hole to place the posts? You would dig the hole because you want to secure the base of each post in the ground, not over it.
You can think of dental implants like the fence posts for your teeth replacements. By attaching your dental crowns, dental bridges, or dentures to dental implants, you aren’t just holding them in place, however. You are providing a foundation that puts some force behind your bite.
This is best explained with dentures. Researchers have found that a healthy human has a bite force of 200 to 250 pounds. This is more than enough to take a bite of a fresh, crisp apple or to chew a bite of chicken or steak.
Multiple studies have revealed that maximum bite force of someone with traditional dentures is closer to 50 pounds of pressure or about 25 percent of the bite force of someone with a full set of teeth.
This can make it difficult to bite into certain foods, and it can make chewing other foods much more tedious and tiresome.
Dental implants have been proven to restore 80 percent, 90 percent, and in some cases nearly 100 percent of someone’s bite force. Regardless, a person with dental implants has the power behind his or her bite to eat comfortably no matter what is on his or her plate.
Our team at Hampden Dental Care wants you to do more than have a nice smile. We want you to be able to enjoy a nice meal as well.
▸ 3. Dental Implants Are Good For Your Jaw
Most people take their teeth for granted until they lose them, and more than that, people take their jaws for granted. What you may not realize is that losing teeth affects your jaw health as well.
Your roots help sustain the health of your jawbone. Your roots push into your jawbone with each bite and chew. That pressure causes your jaw to create new bone tissue. This keeps your jaw healthy and strong.
Without teeth, you don’t have roots. Without those roots, your jawbone is not feeling the pressure that spurs new bone growth. Without that pressure, our jaw will begin to shrink.
By getting one dental implant or multiple implants, you are providing a replacement for those missing roots.
Get Everything You Should From Your Replacement Teeth
Make an appointment at our dentist office in Lakewood, CO, if you are looking to replace teeth that have been lost or were extracted.
Call 303-647-1907 or contact us online to schedule your consultation at Hampden Dental Care soon.