Dental Implants
Many individuals reach out to Coast Dental Brandon Town Center inquiring if dental implants are an effective option for replacing missing teeth or stabilizing dentures. Dental implants offer a robust and durable solution, allowing you to eat, speak, and smile confidently for many years.
A dental implant consists of a titanium post designed to resemble a small screw. This post is surgically inserted into the jawbone beneath your gums by a dentist or specialist. Over time, the jawbone bonds with the titanium implant, forming a solid foundation for attaching crowns, bridges, or fixed dentures. Moreover, dental implants boast a proven success rate of over 95%, significantly outperforming other methods of tooth replacement.
How Dental Implants Work
At our Coast Dental office in Brandon, we can use dental implants to replace missing teeth in several ways.
Single Tooth Replacement
When addressing the loss of a single tooth, a dental implant is inserted into the jawbone to act as a replacement for the tooth’s root. Following this, an artificial crown, meticulously designed to blend in with the color of your surrounding teeth and built to resist discoloration, is attached to the implant. While this method may present a higher initial investment relative to other alternatives, it is considered the most advantageous long-term solution for replacing a single tooth due to its outstanding success rate. The implant itself is immune to decay, eliminates the possibility of needing root canals in the future, and provides a feeling remarkably similar to that of a natural tooth.
Multiple Tooth Replacement
When multiple teeth are missing, it’s not always compulsory to replace each one with an individual implant. Instead, dental implants can act as strong anchors for fixed bridges. For instance, in the scenario where three teeth are missing side by side, inserting just two implants at either end of the gap might suffice. These implants can then support a bridging crown placed in the middle without needing its own implant. Choosing this approach bypasses the need to depend on adjacent natural teeth for support, a method which could potentially weaken those teeth, increase their vulnerability to decay, and elevate the risk of requiring root canal procedures. Dental implants offer a self-sufficient support structure that steers clear of these issues.
Fixed Implant-Supported Dentures
Implants are capable of firmly securing an entire set of upper or lower prosthetic teeth, which are permanently fixed and not designed to be removed. Generally, a mere four implants are sufficient to fasten a full arch of prosthetic teeth. In situations where substantial jawbone deterioration has occurred, additional implants might be required to underpin a sequence of 10 to 12 teeth. These implant-supported prosthetic teeth are instrumental in maintaining the structural integrity of the jawbone, they stay fixed in position, and are constructed to endure for a lifetime.
Implant-Supported Removable Dentures
If you find yourself without any teeth in either the upper or lower jaw, you may notice that your current denture doesn’t fit as securely as it used to. Utilizing implants can vastly enhance both the fit and comfort of your dentures, significantly improving your ability to eat and speak without worry. The problem with traditional dentures is that without tooth roots, the jawbone begins to deteriorate, which diminishes the bone ridges that are crucial for keeping dentures in place. This loss of bone can change the shape of your face, potentially giving it a sunken appearance and making you look older than you are as the jawbone recedes. Installing implants into the jaw to hold the dentures in place distributes the forces of chewing more evenly, aiding in the preservation of the bone ridge. This stability also prevents the lower denture from being accidentally moved by the tongue. Moreover, when dentures are secured with implants, there is a significant decrease, or even a complete removal, of the necessity for denture adhesives.
What Do Dental Implants Cost?
Dental implants are often seen as a cost-effective choice when considered a long-term investment in your health, comfort, and overall well-being. While the initial cost of implants is higher compared to other tooth-replacement options like dentures or bridges, dental implants have a much longer lifespan; in fact, many never require replacement.
We advise checking with your dental insurance provider to understand what parts of the cost might be covered under your plan. Additionally, Coast Dental Brandon Town Center offers third-party financing options that could help make dental implants more affordable for your family’s budget.
To determine if dental implants are the right choice for you, we recommend scheduling a consultation. If you are missing one or more teeth, please call our Brandon dentist today at (813) 662-9340.
