Dental Implants: Improving Your Smile One Tooth at a Time

Missing teeth affect both the appearance of a smile and the confidence of the person behind the teeth. Dental implants fix a smile by replacing one or more missing teeth without the need for removable dentures or bridges. If you’re interested in dental implants Brooklyn, read on to learn more about the different types of dental implants available.

What are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are titanium posts which are surgically inserted into the jawbone or gumline to allow artificial teeth to be mounted. The post acts as the tooth root, keeping the artificial tooth stable. Endosteal implants place the metal directly into the jaw while subperiosteal implants are placed inside the gum, just above the jawbone. Endosteal implants are the most common, but they require an adequate amount of healthy jawbone to be effective. If the jawbone is not healthy, a dentist can recommend a variety of treatments, including bone grafts, to improve the jaw before placing endosteal implants. However, if the jawbone is unhealthy and a patient does not want to commit to restoring the bone, subperiosteal implants are the safer alternative.

Other techniques include implants that can be performed in one day. Typical dental implants can take months because the metal post must naturally fuse with the jawbone before the artificial crown is placed. However, if a patient would like immediate results, the following techniques can be performed in one dental appointment:

• Mini dental implants
• Immediate load dental implants
• All-on-4®

Factors to Consider When Choosing Dental Implants

While patient preference is an important deciding factor, the following concerns can also influence a patient’s decision:

• Overall cost
• Location of missing teeth
• Overall health of the patient
• Amount of healthy jawbone available

By replacing missing teeth with dental implants, dentists can provide both a functional and cosmetic smile to their patients. With advancements in the world of dentistry, it can be easy to correct a patient’s smile in only a few visits.