If you have lost a tooth, you know how uncomfortable and even embarrassing it can be. You might feel like you have to hide your smile, or that it’s hard to keep your teeth clean with such a large gap in your mouth.
Fortunately, there are options. A dental implant can help you return to eating normally and smiling with confidence. There are also a lot of other benefits to getting a dental implant.
If you are considering a dental implant in Brampton, there are several things you need to know. Let’s dive in so you can schedule your appointment as soon as possible!
Having a Missing Tooth Can Cause Problems
Beyond being uncomfortable and unsightly, a missing tooth causes a variety of problems. Not having a tooth in place can cause your other teeth to start to tilt toward the gap, becoming unaligned. This lack of alignment can make it even more difficult to eat or talk naturally.
Also, without the root of your tooth in the gap, you can lose bone in your jaw. The jaw bone helps anchor your teeth so that chewing and using your teeth can stimulate the bone to help it stay strong. With nothing to stimulate your jaw bone in that space, it can deteriorate. This also weakens the teeth around the space.
Not replacing a missing tooth can significantly increase your chances of losing other teeth. That’s why it is important to get a dental implant as soon as you can. What are dental implants? They are posts that support a natural-looking crown so you can replace a missing tooth easily and safely.
Dental Implants Are Built to Last
If you get dentures or a dental bridge, you will have to get replacements in less than 10 years. That means multiple procedures and doctor’s visits over your lifetime, and each one has to adjust for bone loss and the new positioning for surrounding teeth.
In contrast, a dental implant will last a lifetime. It fuses with your jawbone so it’s not going anywhere. As well, you regain the benefits of having your natural teeth in place — the bone is stimulated and grows stronger, which helps nearby teeth.
A dentist may have to make small adjustments, but it’s nothing like having to get an entire new appliance every 7 to 10 years. When you look at that reality, dental implant prices are quite affordable compared to other options.
An Implant Looks and Feels Like Your Natural Tooth
You might think of a dental implant as a metal post, but that’s only the base of the structure. On top of that, your dentist places a porcelain dental crown that is shaped and coloured to look exactly like your natural teeth.
As a result of having such a natural replacement, you will regain your confidence and start to smile, talk, and eat freely again. There are no restrictions with your diet or beverages, and your implant can help you feel like nothing ever went wrong. On the other hand, dentures often shift around and it takes a long time to get used to them. That is why we recommend dental implants for seniors.
You will clean your implant with brushing and flossing, just like your normal teeth. You don’t need to remove your implant (in fact, you can’t!) Implants allow you to feel and speak just like you did before you lost your tooth. That’s why studies show the success rate of dental implants is over 98%.
Getting an Implant Is Not Painful
Many people associate dental surgery with extreme pain and discomfort, which is why so many people avoid the dentist altogether. What they don’t realize is that dental care has improved significantly over time and today’s technology, methods, and medications allow a low-pain or pain-free experience in most cases.
Are dental implants painful? With implant surgery, local anesthetic will be used and you won’t feel any pain as your dentist puts in the implant. Surgical guides allow for pinpoint accuracy and a quick, efficient procedure.
Healing takes time, but that’s not a bad thing. As time passes, the implant and bone fuse to make the post as stable as your natural teeth. While your permanent crown won’t come until after healing is complete, you can get a temporary version in the meantime.
Your Health Matters
Your health status and how you take care of yourself make a big difference when it comes to dental implants. Most well-controlled health issues will not impact your dental procedure, but HIV, immune diseases, and uncontrolled diabetes need to be discussed with the dental surgeon before you move forward.
It’s also important to let your dentist know if you have an allergy to specific metals, especially titanium or zirconium, as those are the most common materials used for the post. The good news is that there are a variety of other options, so it doesn’t rule you out.
You do need to have sufficient bone mass in your jaw to be a good candidate for an implant. That’s why it’s important to take action as soon as possible after you lose your tooth. Fortunately, advances in technology mean that you can still move forward even with some diminished bone mass.
Finally, if you’re a smoker, getting an implant is a good time to quit. Many smokers have problems with their implant healing because the constant sucking during smoking damages the healing process. Also, putting additional bacteria and chemicals near the implant site doesn’t create a good outcome. If you’ve been looking for a reason to stop smoking, this is it!
Getting an Implant Is a Process
It takes many months to plan, place, heal, and finalize a dental implant. You will start with consultations with your dentist. They will let you know what your needs are, and you will review your health conditions with them.
If you need a bone graft to strengthen the jaw, that happens first. You will have to completely heal from that before you can get the implant.
From there, you set a date for implant surgery and get the post put in. You will have a few months with a temporary crown while the implant heals. Once everything looks good, the permanent crown is put in place and you can return to smiling and enjoying your life as you always did!
During this process, you will have frequent checkups and it’s essential that you attend each one. We want to ensure your implant is healthy and that there are no complications before we take each step forward.
Is an Implant Right For You?
At Springdale Dental Centre, we’re proud to provide a comprehensive set of services for your dental needs. We provide cleanings, checkups, fillings, tooth extractions, dental implants, and much more.
If you are missing a tooth and think an implant could be a good solution, we’d love to see you. Don’t let dental implant cost stop you. There are many ways to pay for an implant, and over time the dental implant price isn’t higher than multiple replacements of a bridge or dentures.
We can do a consultation and let you know a treatment plan that’s suitable for you. Contact us at 905-458-1212 for an appointment today!
