Deciding If Dental Implants Are For You
Losing your teeth sounds like one of those things that is just bound to happen when you get old. While it’s true that over 25% or adults over 65 have lost their teeth a surprising 60% of adults aged 35-45 have at least one missing tooth. Whether your tooth loss is from gum disease, decay or injury you may be wondering if getting dental implants is for you. Here are some considerations to help you decide if you are a good candidate for getting implants.
Appearance Concerns
Are you concerned about your appearance? Depending on which tooth or teeth are missing they may have a major impact on your appearance. If you like to smile wide and often then people you interact with are going to be naturally drawn to the imperfection and most will react whether they are conscious of it or not. Having a natural smile and feeling confident can have a huge impact in many areas of your life. Feeling self-conscious about your smile can even change the way you behave and think about yourself so you are no longer the person you once were.
Maintain Health
Keeping your remaining teeth healthy is important and even if the location of your missing teeth may not be a concern cosmetically, the gap can lead to bone loss and eventually affect the health and stability of the neighboring teeth and gums. Other teeth may shift toward the empty space, causing functional problems that affect your bite and ability to chew.
If you don’t smoke, do not currently have gum disease and are in good general health you may be an excellent candidate for dental implants. If you have lost one or more teeth from a physical injury or from past gum disease then implants is good to consider.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants provide a more natural feel and give you more confidence than dentures or bridges. You care for your implants as you would your normal teeth and you don’t need to worry about removing your teeth or forgetting them. To maintain your implants all you need to do is brush, floss and visit your dentist as regularly as you normally would.
Implants are more durable and last longer than dentures or bridges. You will not typically need to replace implants ever in your lifetime, while dentures may need to be replaced every 10 years or so. Using dentures may also allow your remaining teeth to move while implants maintain the integrity of your entire bite.
Tooth loss doesn’t need to stop you from smiling. Dental implants provide a permanent solution that is easy to care for and natural feeling. They feel and function so naturally that you will often forget that you even have implants. Because implants are permanent they also help maintain the health or you’re remaining teeth and the integrity of your entire jaw.