Dental Implants in Aurora Gem Dentistry

The loss of a front tooth can put a dent in your smile and negatively affect your appearance and consequently your confidence and self-esteem. Many people might hence be eager to get it replaced if one of their front teeth goes missing. They however often postpone or entirely ignore fixing missing back teeth since the signs of damage are not obvious. Although no one can see your missing back tooth, you do really need to replace it. Missing teeth not only affect the look of your smile, but they also affect your general medical health, and may result in costly and more serious dental issues. The risks coming from a missing tooth include decrease in ability to chew, dental drift and its related complications, jawbone loss, and gum disease.

As you can see, missing teeth are not just a question of appearance and unsightly but risky to your health. The longer you delay replacing a missing tooth, the higher the risks coming from a missing tooth. If you have missing teeth then we can offer the best treatment options for you. Just call us for a tooth replacement consult at (905) 503-7171, or schedule your visit online.

The current gold standard for replacing missing teeth

Dental drift and its related complications

Even though it seems likely that our teeth are rigid in the mouth, they are actually not fixed.

This natural capacity for movement is a positive feature as it causes the teeth to respond to recurring or persistent pressures in the mouth. It allows orthodontists treat misaligned teeth (malocclusion) or your teeth form an arch with the help of your tongue. However, this natural capacity may work against you when you lose a tooth. The adjacent teeth may begin to shift or drift from their normal positions into the open space since the support once provided by the bone and missing tooth no longer exists.

This can result in a misaligned bite and in turn the weakness of those shifting teeth and even further tooth loss. What is worse is that when your bite is imbalanced, it can accelerate the drift causing a vicious cycle response. A misaligned bite may cause bruxism, which is a habitual grinding of your teeth, or a jaw joint disorder (TMD) promoting damage to your teeth enamel, tooth sensitivity, chronic jaw pain, and tension headaches or other health issues.

Jawbone loss & Gum disease

Similar to exercise that helps you maintain your muscle, while chewing your food each tooth has another opposite tooth to make contact with, which helps stimulate and support your jawbone. However, if one of the teeth goes missing, the stimulation goes away and your body responds by leaching calcium out of the jawbone for using elsewhere. Hence, in patients with one or more missing teeth, if they are not replaced, about 25 percent of the jawbone density in the gap area can be lost within the first year.

A missing tooth can promote gum disease as the open pocket, which is left by the missing tooth, may serves as an accessible gateway for bacteria to enter your gums. The bacteria will eventually prompt the inflammation of your gums and gum disease that not only attacks your gums, but also your periodontal ligament that secures the tooth to the bone and your jawbone itself. This can lead to the loosening of teeth, tooth loss, and more bone loss as well as many other serious health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and even cancer.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dental Implants

1. What are dental implants?

A dental implant is nothing but an artificial root inserted into the jawbone which is often made of titanium metal. It is replaced the root of the natural missing tooth and an artificial tooth is then attached to the implant. In fact, the implant serves as an anchor to hold the replacement tooth in place. Dental implants are the current gold standard for replacing missing teeth.

2. Am I a good candidate for the procedure?

You can safely undergo the dental implant surgery on the condition that you have enough bone in the jaw to keep an implant secure, have healthy gums and healthy oral tissues, and have a healthy immune system and you are in good general health. Your dental specialist at Aurora Gem Dentistry will tell you if dental implant can be done for you.

3. How is the procedure done?

First, to find out whether dental implants are the right fit for you, your dental care team at Aurora Gem Dentistry will discuss your oral history and review your medical records, carefully examine your mouth, and take x-rays of your head, jaw and teeth. Next, during the first stage of surgery, a dental implant is placed into your jawbone beneath the gum tissue and the gum tissue is then stitched back into place.

4. Why are dental implants the best option for tooth replacement?

Dental implants are surgically anchored into the jawbone and your own bone tissue grows around them. As a result, the implants become fused into the bones of your jaw and are replaced the root from your missing tooth. Thus, artificial teeth attached to implants look and act much like natural teeth.

How is a dental implanted step by step and what advantages does it have compared with a dental bridge

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