Tooth loss can make once-basic tasks, like eating, speaking, or smiling confidently, much more challenging. Fortunately, you don’t have to continue living with gaps in your grin. Your dentist can replace one or more missing teeth with dental implants.
Many experts consider these restorations the ideal way to rebuild smiles because of their unique advantages. However, they’re also the only replacement teeth that involve oral surgery, so you must consult your provider to ensure it’s the best option for you. Continue reading to learn about 3 qualities of good dental implant candidates!
Trait #1: Good General Health
Unlike dentures and dental bridges, implants involve embedding titanium rods into your jawbone. Although this procedure has an incredibly high success rate of more than 90 percent, it does come with a slight risk of adverse effects, like infection or other issues. Furthermore, many patients undergo sedation to keep them calm and comfortable the entire time.
That means your body must be strong enough to undergo the surgery, withstand sedation, and recover effectively afterwards. During your initial consultation, your dental team will update your medical history and list any medications or supplements you take regularly to avoid doing anything that might interfere with your overall well-being.
Trait #2: Commitment to Dental Hygiene
Dental implants are capped with lifelike restorations typically made from tooth-colored ceramic that can be customized to be just the right shape, shade, and size to match your smile seamlessly. This material doesn’t develop decay like enamel, but that doesn’t mean you no longer need to worry about your dental hygiene.
The leading cause of failure is an advanced form of gum disease, peri-implantitis. It can thankfully be avoided by brushing and flossing twice daily to remove plaque and bacteria that cause common problems that could hurt your new tooth.
Trait #3: Sufficient Jawbone Density
Did you know that your jawbone thins after tooth loss? Your roots stimulate new bone growth that keeps it active and healthy every time you bite down. When they go missing, you can quickly lose surrounding bone mass, which can cause dental drifting or contribute to additional tooth loss.
It can take several months to recover from your procedure because that’s how long it takes your jaw to generate enough new bone growth to fuse with the biocompatible support rod of your implant. However, if your jaw was too frail to begin with, you might not complete this stage of recovery successfully, increasing the likelihood of a destabilized implant. Your dentist will measure your jawbone density with X-rays or other scans and images before proceeding as a result.
If you’re not a valid candidate immediately, don’t lose hope! In some cases, additional services, like a jawbone graft, are required before you can proceed with dental implants.
About the Practice
At Heart of Texas Smiles General & Cosmetic Dentistry, you and your loved ones benefit from a team of highly accomplished dentists eager to help you build and maintain happy, healthy smiles. Dr. Lassetter, Dr. Enneking, and Dr. Kuma collaborate to offer a comprehensive menu of services at one convenient location, including dental implants. They have the advanced training and state-of-the-art equipment to offer each step of the process in the office, including oral surgery, so there’s no need to seek additional providers. Then, they provide beautiful restorations for seamless results. You can request an appointment on the website or call (254) 203-9662.