Am I a Candidate for Dental Implants?
Dental implants can change your life, whether you’re missing a tooth or two or wearing dentures and wishing you weren’t. Here’s how to tell whether they’re right for you.
Dental Implants: Why They Are the Gold Standard for Replacing Missing Teeth
Losing a tooth is an incredibly common occurrence, whether it’s due to decay, trauma, or other issues. However, being common doesn’t make it comfortable. If you’ve lost a tooth, getting it replaced should be a priority.
Dr. Caesar Sweidan and Dr. Maryam Habibzadeh at St. Tammany Periodontics and Implants encourage all of our patients who have lost teeth to consider replacements. We offer several options but consider dental implants to be the gold standard for tooth replacement.
What is a dental implant?
When you have a dental implant, you essentially get an artificial tooth root. We implant the fixture into your jawbone, where it serves as a replacement for your original tooth root. When you have a natural tooth root, each time you bite down, that root stimulates blood flow to your jawbone, keeping it healthy.
The implant provides that stimulation to your jawbone along with strength and durability. With a healthy jaw, your face retains its shape.
We place a crown, which looks like a natural, healthy tooth, over the implant. The crown serves two important purposes: It allows you to chew and speak normally, and it fills the gap left by the missing tooth, so your other teeth don’t shift and cause problems with dental hygiene and bite alignment.
The benefits of an implant
Along with a natural look, dental implants function just like natural teeth. Once your implant is in place, you treat it just like your other teeth. When you get used to it, you’ll barely even notice it.
Some of the other benefits include:
- A smile you’ll enjoy showing off
- Clear speech
- No problems eating
- A long-lasting solution
- Better oral health
- A success rate of up to 98%
The sooner, the better
One of the reasons you want to get a dental implant as soon as you can is that it can prevent problems from occurring or stop them before they progress too far. The longer a tooth is missing, the greater your risk of complications, such as:
- Problems eating and talking
- Higher likelihood of decay or infection
- Atrophy of your jawbone, or even bone loss
- A receding gum line
The earlier you have a dental implant placed, the less risk you have of these complications. Plus, you get to enjoy all the perks of healthy, stable teeth.
Getting started
The first step in getting a dental implant is having a comprehensive dental exam. We may request X-rays or make a model of your jaw and your teeth. We also discuss your past and current medical issues, medications or supplements, and other health-related issues. After that, we develop a treatment plan designed to meet your needs.
If you’d like to learn more about dental implants and how they might benefit your oral health, schedule an appointment at St. Tammany Periodontics and Implants. We have two locations for your convenience.
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