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A Tooth Implant Means Your Beautiful Smile Will Last Forever

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If you had any problems with your teeth in the past you were in trouble. If you lost a tooth from the back of your mouth it didn’t matter too much because nobody would see it, but if you started losing teeth from the front of your mouth it was a different story. You might have ended up with a set of false teeth that you would take out every night before you went to bed. It’s something you might have been able to live with if you were older, but it could ruin a young person’s confidence.

The dental industry took some important steps forward and there were finally other options available. Instead of having to wear a plate, your dentist would ruin perfectly good teeth at each end of a problematic tooth in order to fit a bridge. This involved grinding down a couple of healthy teeth so they could cap them. The end product was actually great and it helped millions of people smile again, but these days there is something a million times better and it involves getting a tooth implant.

What does it involve?

You might be wondering how on earth they can fit a tooth that won’t fall out. The first thing they have to do is drill down into your jawbone where they fit a titanium post. After the post is fitted you have to wait a while because the jawbone eventually grows around it, securing it into place in a process called osseointegration. The dentist then screws an abutment into the titanium post buried inside your jawbone.

You are then left to heal and the gum tissue will eventually grow around the abutment. While all this is going on your dentist will be in the process of getting a crown made for you. The crown is eventually screwed into the abutment and you have a new tooth. It’s a much longer process than having a bridge fitted, but I’m sure you’ll agree that the end result is much more satisfying for the patient.

Are there any risks involved?

It definitely doesn’t come without any risks, but what surgery ever does? You have the basic things that can go wrong like catching an infection, but you also have more serious things like your bone rejecting the titanium post. If it’s rejected it will have to be taken out and done again which will require more healing time. Although there are risks involved you shouldn’t be too concerned because the success rate of the procedure is around 95%.

It’s a little costly

Everything sounds great so far, so you already know that this isn’t going to cost the same amount of money as your average dental procedure. A single implant will cost you around $5000 although this will depend on where you get it done. You will probably have to pay most of it yourself as your insurance might only pay a fraction of the cost. The good news is that if you need more than one tooth fixed it will work out cheaper because every single one doesn’t need a titanium post fitted.

You might be the perfect candidate

Your health will play a part in whether or not you’re a good candidate for the procedure. If you don’t have healthy jawbones it’s a big risk because your bone might not be strong enough to support the implant. There is an option to perform a bone graft if you don’t have enough healthy bone to support the implant, but your dentist will decide what is best for you on a case-by-case basis. If you decide to have one fitted I wish you the best of luck.