Many experts consider dental implants the ideal way to rebuild your grin after losing adult teeth because of their unique advantages. These restorations are the only ones inserted into your jawbone, so they tend to be more resilient and longer lasting than alternatives like dentures or bridges.
However, tooth loss can weaken your jaw over time, which can potentially impact the success of this procedure. If you’re worried that you’ve waited too long to pursue this treatment, continue reading to learn why you can still have hope for rebuilding your smile!
How Do Dental Implants Work?
These restorations are the only option that involves surgically placing support rods into your jaw to anchor them. It can take several months to recover because that’s how long it often takes the foundation of your mouth to produce enough new bone growth to fuse with these poles in a process called osseointegration. Then, they function like roots to maintain your jaw.
Once you’ve recovered sufficiently, your dentist can provide a dental crown, bridge, or dentures, depending on how many teeth you lost. Your prosthetic will be carefully customized to resemble your natural enamel for beautiful, lifelike results.
How Does Tooth Loss Impact My Jawbone?
Did you know that your teeth help maintain your jawbone? Under normal circumstances, the roots stimulate additional bone growth with each bite down that keep it active and healthy. Unfortunately, you can lose up to 25% of the surrounding bone density when one goes missing.
Eventually, this can contribute to other issues, like changes to your facial structure or additional tooth loss. Dental implants are the only replacement teeth that can slow or stop this process of degeneration to strengthen your smile. However, if it’s been several years since your teeth fell out and your jaw is too frail to begin with, you might not be able to produce enough new bone growth for successful osseointegration.
Is it Too Late to Get Dental Implants?
It’s natural to feel concerned that you might have delayed too long to be able to proceed with your desired treatment. During your implant consultation, your provider will measure your jawbone density to determine whether it’s thick enough.
If it’s not, there’s a chance that a bone graft procedure can bulk it up enough to continue. Keep in mind, though, that this procedure will likely also result in additional months of recovery time as the additional bone material must also integrate with your jaw.
Your dentist can examine your condition and take X-rays or other scans to let you know if you’re a good candidate to safely undergo the dental implant procedure!
About the Practice
At Prosper Dental Health, patients benefit from a team of dentists with decades of combined experience. Our providers are each highly accomplished individuals, and they collaborate to provide a comprehensive menu of services under one roof, including dental implants. With general dentists and a prosthodontist on staff, they can place and restore your prosthetics in the office for a more streamlined experience. You can request an appointment on the website or by calling (972) 347-2233.