Learn More About Dental Implants:
Dentures have been the leading solution for those dental patients who have experienced the loss of one or more teeth. As dental technology has advanced, changes to dentures and restoration technology have introduced new solutions. Dental implants have grown to be the most popular dental restoration technique for replacing missing teeth today. There are significant benefits to dental implants over traditional dentures and other restoration techniques.
What To Know About Dental Implants:
While dental implant technology has a history that reaches back hundreds of years, they’ve been greatly improved. The first dental implant may have been done post-mortem and was an iron tooth pounded into the jaw of an Egyptian Pharaoh. More successful replacements involved the use of seashells placed in living sockets where teeth had been removed. Today, titanium mounts are used that provide significant benefits and actually serve to promote jawbone health.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Are Dental Implants Appropriate For My Oral Health?
When teeth are extracted, it’s important to see that they are replaced to protect the lasting health of the jawbone and remaining teeth. If you’ve undergone an extraction, Dr. Vargas may suggest that dental implants as an important step to restoring the strength and integrity of your smile.
What Are The Benefits Of Dental Implants?
Dental implants come with multiple benefits, including functioning much more like your natural teeth. They are only removed during your twice-yearly visits and otherwise remain in place throughout the year. Other benefits of dental implants include:
- Titanium Encourages Bone Growth – One of the properties of titanium is its ability to undergo osseointegration. This is a term that means it fuses directly with the bone. Combined with its ability to actually encourage the body to regrow bone, it actually strengthens your jawbone and improves oral health. Dental implants are mounted on titanium screws that are placed into your jawbone. Dentures, on the other hand, have not been shown to slow the shrinking of the jawbone after an extraction.
- Natural Appearance – Dental implants don’t flop, shift, or fall out like dentures can due to being securely held in place by the mounting points. They also don’t come with the food restrictions you may experience with traditional dentures.
- Easy To Care For – Since they don’t need to be removed or placed in cleaning fluid, caring for your implants is as easy as caring for your natural teeth. A simple hygiene routine of brushing, flossing, and mouthwash use, along with twice-yearly visits to our clinic in Spokane, WA, is all you’ll need.
What To Expect When Getting Dental Implants:
Receiving dental implants is a two-step procedure, starting with surgery to place the titanium mounting points into your jaw. The gums are secured in place over the mounts until the jaw heals, at which point the sites will be reopened for the final placement of the abutments and final crowns. The healing process between the first and second visit can take 8-12 weeks, while the second procedure only takes a couple of weeks to recover from.
Find out more by contacting South Hill Comprehensive Dentistry and Dr. Ulysses Vargas in Spokane, WA, today. We’ll set up your appointment and get you started on the road to a fully restored smile immediately!
