Monday, January 2, 2012

Dental Implants: Your Practical Solution

By Diane Adams


Dental implants Columbus are usually the best treatment option for replacing missing teeth. Rather than resting on the gum line like detachable dentures, or using adjacent teeth as anchors like fixed bridges, dental implants are long-term replacements that your dental and maxillofacial surgeon surgically places in the jawbone. Statistics show that 69% of adults ages 35 to 44 have lost at least one permanent tooth to an accident, gum disease, an unsuccessful root canal or tooth decay. Furthermore, by age 74, 26% of adults have lost all of their permanent teeth.

Before, patients would have had no choice but to make use of a fixed bridge or removable denture to restore their ability to eat, speak clearly and smile. Removable dentures may slip or cause embarrassing clicking sounds while speaking. Fixed bridges often affect adjacent healthy teeth, and removable dentures may lead to bone loss in the area where teeth are missing. Recurrent decay, periodontal disease and other factors often doom fixed bridgework to early failure. Fixed bridges and removable dentures are not the perfect solution and often bring with them a number of other problems. Because of this, fixed bridges and removable dentures usually need to be replaced every 7 to 15 years.

Periodontitis is a chronic infection of the gums which is characterized by a loss of attachment between the tooth and the jawbone. It is the leading cause of tooth loss among adults in the United States. Teeth are attached to the jaw by a series of very strong ligaments. The gums are also connected to the tooth by a complex series of microscopic fibers; and the gums lay over the tooth-bone attachment like a protective cover. Periodontitis begins in the shallow pocket where the tooth and gum meets, usually as a milder form of gum infection known as gingivitis. Bacteria can grow in this pocket, usually due to inadequate oral hygiene. The gum begins to pull away from the tooth deepening the pocket, making it harder to clean and encouraging the formation of tartar deposits below the gum line.

By replacing a lost tooth with a dental implant, the entire health and functionality of the surrounding teeth is preserved. If your jawbone is too narrow for bone grafting, a plate form implant is positioned into your jawbone. The plate form implant is exclusive for this purpose as it has a flat and long shape for a better fit into a narrow jawbone. After you've received anesthesia, your cosmetic dentist will expose a region of your jawbone and prepare the bone for the implant. The number of incisions and bone preparations rely on how many implants you need. The implant is going to be set into place and your gums are closed with stitches. It will take three to six months for healing.

When replacing dentures, dental implants Columbus can offer even more benefits. Implants do not slip nor do they have the potential of limiting the diet to easily chewed foods as can occur with improperly fitting dentures. If suitable, implants are the method most able to surgically restore missing teeth to their initial conditions.




About the Author:



No comments: