If you are missing teeth, it’s possible that you suffer from confidence issues due to the appearance that missing teeth give your smile. Or worse, you may be suffering from oral health issues due to the missing teeth. The great news is that there is absolutely no need to worry about these issues if you are willing to take action. A dental implant is an incredibly easy and available solution in dealing with missing teeth. Dr. William Taylor and his team at Martin Taylor Dentistry in Tucson, AZ provide dental implant treatment with consistent and successful results.

It’s estimated that three million Americans have received dental implant treatment. Let’s look at what a dental implant is and then some benefits to getting dental implants.

Dental Implants – The Three Components

Dental implants are quite simple. A dental implant will typically be constructed from titanium, meant to replace the missing tooth’s roots. The entire structure of a dental implant consists of three separate components that, when completed, will function and look like a natural tooth should. The three components are:

• The Post: This is embedded into the jawbone and, once fused into the bone, acts as the foundation of the implant
• The Abutment: This is the section of the implant which is inserted into the post. It’s visible at and above the gumline and is designed to support a crown, denture, or bridge.
• The Prosthesis: This is the section of the dental implant that is visible and is placed onto the abutment to function and appears as a natural tooth. Depending on the patient’s need, the prosthesis can be a crown, denture, or bridge.

Keep Your Teeth From Shifting

When a tooth is lost, a gap is immediately created that can spell long-term trouble if not filled. The space created by a lost tooth can lead to bone loss or, due to normal everyday stress and pressure, a shifting of the surrounding teeth. When teeth begin to shift, this is not only a cosmetic issue, but an actual dental health concern due to the instability caused due to slanted teeth. That, combined with bone loss, can result in you losing additional teeth. By filling any gaps with dental implants, you will be able to avoid these issues.

Chew Your Food Properly

One reason, among others, that makes a dental implant so critical is that it will allow you to maintain proper chewing strength. Proper chewing is essential to digestion. The better your food is chewed and digested, the more adequately your body can absorb nutrients from the food. With dental implants, you will have the same chewing ability that you had when you had your full set of teeth. Since implants are as close as you can get to having a full set of natural teeth, you’ll be able to eat as you always did and receive all the health benefits from it.

Improve Your Self Confidence

Dental implants offer important oral health benefits but, in addition to that, they can also provide a boost to your self-confidence. When you have missing teeth, it’s easy to loathe the appearance of your smile. Due to these feelings, you may find that you smile less than you used to and appear, to others, as though you are unhappy (even if that isn’t true). When you receive dental implant treatment, your smile can again be complete, and you can go out knowing that every time you smile, nobody will ever know that you had gaps in your smile. Dental implants can also improve your speech. When you replace teeth with dentures, they can slip and slide in your mouth and impede your ability to practice proper speech. Dental implants are secure, and because of this, you’ll have no such issue.

If you have gaps in your smile that is causing you self-confidence or oral health issues, the best thing you can do for yourself is reach out to a dental professional who can go over options with you, including dental implants. Dr. William Taylor and his team at Martin Taylor Dentistry in Tucson, AZ provide dental implant treatment and would love to see you. To set up an appointment, please call (520) 600-6925 today.