How Are Canker Sores Treated?
Canker sores can be painful, and while most of us don’t have them too often, others can experience canker pain regularly. Here’s why cankers happen and what we can do to help you find relief.
4 Benefits of Dental Implants
According to the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, about 3 million Americans have at least one dental implant and another 500,000 implants get placed annually. While bridges and dentures are still prevalent, dental implants have quickly become a popular alternative.
Marvin Taylor, DDS, and Dr Taylor’s Family Dental Center team offer state-of-the-art dental implants to help people restore their oral health and improve smiles and confidence following tooth loss. If you’re missing one or more teeth, here are four ways implants can benefit you:
1. They make your smile look great
A missing tooth can make your smile look worn, old, and uncared for. Dental implants can replace one, several, or all your teeth, restoring your smile to look naturally beautiful.
Implants are custom-shaped, tinted, and made of material designed to reflect light like natural teeth. Plus, when your smile looks its best, you feel better about your overall appearance and more confident.
2. They maintain your bite balance
Your teeth work together in pairs. When missing even one tooth, that balance gets thrown, creating an uneven bite pattern that can quickly lead to headaches, jaw or facial pain, tooth wear, and additional tooth loss. Uneven bite balance can also lead to temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), a chronic medical problem that can cause ongoing discomfort.
Dental implants match the natural contours of your teeth to maintain your standard bite mechanics, meaning you’re far less likely to develop TMJ and uncomfortable symptoms. Maintaining your typical bite pattern also helps preserve your other teeth.
3. They will not slip or cause sores
Dental implants are designed more like natural teeth, with an implant post as the root and a tooth-colored crown to replace the missing tooth. The post secures the implant into your jaw to keep it in place.
On the other hand, dentures rest on top of your gums. While regular adjustments and adhesives help them stay in place, they can still slip, especially when eating certain foods. Slippage can be embarrassing, but eventually, it can lead to sore spots and even infections.
4. They preserve bone density
Your jawbone tissue continually replenishes itself, replacing old, worn tissue with new, healthy tissue. However, that replenishment process only happens when bone tissue gets stimulated. In your jaws, stimulation comes from the roots of your teeth.
When a tooth is missing, stimulation is missing, too. Over time, the jawbone in that area thins out, creating weak spots that can’t support your other teeth. Those teeth loosen and shift, becoming more prone to damage, infection, and loss.
Dentures and bridges can’t stimulate jawbone replenishment because they rest on your gums. But, implants get anchored inside the bone tissue where they serve as tooth roots, not only to support the implant crown but to help spur the development of new, healthy bone tissue, potentially preventing additional tooth loss in the future.
Learn more about dental implants
Dental implants are an effective way to replace missing teeth. To learn more about implants and other options we offer, call Dr. Taylor’s Family Dental Center in Waterford, Michigan, at 248-681-8100 or request an appointment online today.
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