What Makes Dental Implants Different?

After you’ve experienced tooth loss, it can seem like rebuilding your smile and regaining your quality of life might be difficult. However, these days, restoring your smile to its former glory is easier than ever, thanks largely to the help of dental implants. Compared to more traditional prosthesis, like bridges, partials, and full dentures, dental implants offer a more realistic way of replacing your lost teeth. That includes reestablishing their support systems by replacing the roots of your lost teeth, which is something only dental implants can do.

They secure your restoration better

Dental implants aren’t vastly different from conventional bridges and dentures. The visible parts of the restoration are also crafted from lifelike materials, such as dental porcelain or zirconia, that closely resemble the healthy, natural crowns of your teeth. The main difference is in how these structures are supported. Dental implants are designed to mimic the healthy versions of your lost teeth roots, and they’re implanted into your jawbone in order to do so. Once your jawbone heals to them, the implant posts become the supportive anchors that your dental bridge or denture are secured to.

They don’t need additional support

The fact that they mimic your healthy, natural teeth roots is the basic difference between dental implants and more traditional restorations. In practice, however, the difference is more significant, depending on the specific restoration you need. For example, traditional dental bridges rely on dental crowns that are bonded to nearby healthy teeth. This means more of your healthy tooth structure has to be modified in order to support the bridge. However, with dental implant posts, you can preserve more of your healthy smile by avoiding the need to modify any healthy tooth structure, or use it to support your replacement teeth.

They also preserve your jawbone

Your teeth roots are important for supporting your teeth as you bite and chew, as your dental implants are equally important to supporting your restoration. Yet, the importance of your teeth roots and dental implants also extends to the health and integrity of your jawbone. The stimulation the roots and implant posts provide are essential to maintaining a healthy flow of nutrients to your jawbone, preventing the jawbone erosion that often occurs after you’ve lost one or more teeth roots.

Learn more about dental implants

Dental implants offer a much more comfortable and comprehensive way to support your replacement tooth or teeth. To learn more, schedule an appointment with us by calling Allen & Neumann Family Dentistry in Pella, IA, today at (641) 628-1121.