When you lose a tooth, a lot of things from your day-to-day life change, you wouldn’t be able to bite and chew food as you used to, smile confidently, interact with people without being too conscious of your appearance, etc. Just the sound of it can make one feel worried!
As dentists, we recommend dental implants to get your missing teeth replaced. Implants are known to be the best tooth restoratives owing to several advantages that they offer. In comparison to their alternatives, such as dentures and dental bridges, implants are far more reliable and offer certain benefits that their counterparts don’t.
Strength: When it comes to strength, dental implants are the best teeth restoratives, hands down! An implant would be fixed to the jawbone using a metal stud, preferably Titanium. A ceramic crown would be attached to the metal implant using a connecting element called an abutment and dental adhesives. This way, the implant would offer excellent strength. On the other hand, dentures are removable appliances that could break when you bite or chew anything too hard. Bridges could break or get displaced under excessive forces.
Stability:Since implants are fixed to the jawbone, they offer excellent durability. Biting and chewing food, or carrying out the regular oral functions wouldn’t damage the implants. But, dentures aren’t fixed to any stable support as they are removable. The chances of the prosthesis slipping out of the mouth are higher whenever you talk or laugh. Bridges are fixed to the teeth using dental crowns, which makes them less stable than implants.
Aesthetics: From an aesthetics point of view, dentures, bridges, and implants are equally impressive. They are made from tooth-colored ceramic material, which allows the dentist to match their appearance perfectly with that of the oral cavity and the remaining teeth. The color, texture, and translucency can be customized as required.
Functionality:The functionality of the mouth would be restored to normal using all three restoratives. We use dental-grade ceramic material to fabricate them, which offers excellent durability and longevity. Even the phonetics would be restored to normal.
Jawbone health: When a tooth is extracted, the jawbone could gradually shrink or deteriorate with time. This can alter the facial shape and directly result in the loosening of the teeth from their sockets. But, implanting a metal stud into the jawbone would perfectly replace the tooth root and prevent jawbone deterioration. Hence, dental implants are preferred over bridges or dentures to ensure better jawbone health.
Placing a dental implant would require the dentist to perform surgery. Initially, the dentist will run a few tests to determine your candidacy for implants. Once you satisfy the conditions, you will be prepared for implant surgery. The dentist administers local anesthesia to numb your teeth, gums, jawbone, and the surrounding tissues. An incision will be made on the gums to expose the underlying jawbone. The dentist makes a small hole in the bone and inserts the implant stud in it using high precision instruments. The site of surgery will take a few weeks to heal and the jawbone to grow around the implant.
Once the implant firmly adheres to the jawbone, the ceramic crown will be placed on it. The dentist uses an abutment and dental adhesive to bond the ceramic crown to the metal implant. A few tests will be conducted to ensure you have the right bite, and any changes, if required, will be made.
Call us at (773) 880-2310 to have a consultation with Dr. Grandberry, and learn more about dental implants. We also serve Lakeview and Lincoln Park areas of Chicago, 60657.
MON 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
TUE 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
WED Closed
THU 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
FRI 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
SAT - SUN Closed
