Dental Implants can be used to replace a single lost tooth or many missing teeth. Several options are available to restore missing teeth.
If you are missing teeth and wish to eat your favorite foods, increase your chewing ability and improve your appearance and speech, then you are a candidate for dental implants. A dental implant replaces the root of a missing tooth. Initially, the dentist places the implant into the jawbone. After a period of 3-6 months, depending upon certain factors, the dentist taps a post or abutment into the implant. The post projects through the gum and provides the support for a porcelain crown or removable denture.
In the past, dentists would replace missing teeth with crowns, fixed bridges or dentures. Bridges require healthy teeth to be cut down and conventional dentures can often be unstable. Dentists can replace one tooth or multiple teeth with dental implants. Your natural teeth do not have to be cut down and dental implants can provide greater support for dentures.