Exploring the Advantages of Implant Dentistry for Tooth Replacement

Living with an incomplete smile impacts your quality of life. Missing teeth may make it difficult to eat your favorite foods and maintain proper nutrition, impede speech, and change the way you look. Unfortunately, missing teeth can also have a negative impact on your oral health, and all of these reasons are why we recommend restorative dental treatments designed to restore the form, function, and aesthetics of your smile.

At the Center for Cosmetic & General Dentistry, our patients can access a wide array of restorative treatment options for replacing missing teeth. The most popular and widely recommended treatment option is smile restoration with dental implants. Dental implants allow patients to restore their smiles while enhancing oral health and improving quality of life. 

A Versatile Treatment: Dental Implant-Supported Smile Restoration Options

One advantage of dental implants is that they are not a one-size-fits-all treatment. There are several different types of implants — various designs, sizes, and materials — that can be used in different treatment situations to accommodate a wide variety of patients and meet their differing treatment needs. 

Additionally, dental implants have several treatment applications. They can be used in combination with different types of porcelain restorations to replace a single tooth, several teeth, or all of a patient's teeth. 

Individual Tooth Replacement

When a patient is missing a few teeth in different areas of the mouth, individual tooth replacement with dental implants is often the preferred restoration option. In these cases, a single dental implant is placed in the jawbone to support a single dental crown for each tooth that is missing. 

Consecutive Tooth Replacement

When a patient has multiple consecutive teeth missing, then an implant-supported dental bridge is usually the most economical and prudent treatment option. In these cases, one or two dental implants can be placed in the jawbone to support a dental bridge that replaces a row of missing teeth. 

Complete Smile Restoration

When a patient is missing all or most of their teeth, implant-supported full or partial dentures are typically recommended. For these patients, we place a number of strategically located dental implants throughout the mouth to support a denture. With these treatments, we can replace all 32 of an adult's teeth with four, six, or eight dental implants. 

Like traditional dentures, implant-supported dentures replace all (or most) of a patient's teeth with a single dental restoration. Unlike traditional dentures, implant-supported options require no dental adhesive, and they feel secure just like natural teeth. 

Implant-supported dentures can be designed to be permanently fixed (All-on-X) or removable (snap-on or overdentures). 

Benefits of Smile Restoration with Implant 

In addition to being a versatile treatment option, dental implants offer additional benefits and advantages. 

The Most Like Natural Teeth

Of all treatment options for replacing missing teeth, implant-supported dental restorations are the most similar to natural teeth. 

• Function—Implant-supported restorations work just like natural teeth, supported by a dental implant anchor that mimics a tooth's natural root system.  
• Feel - Implant-supported restorations also feel just like regular teeth. Once a patient has healed, they don't require getting used to the way that a removable denture can. Instead, they're comfortable to bite down on, they're custom-designed to fit comfortably with your remaining natural teeth, and they offer a secure and stable replacement.
• Form - The only visible portion of a dental implant is the tooth-colored porcelain restoration that it supports. These restorations are custom-designed to complement and enhance each patient's unique features. They will blend in with your natural teeth and restore your smile to its beauty. 

Support and Safeguard Your Oral Health

Dental implants are the only treatment option for replacing missing teeth that supports oral health. When a tooth is lost, the jawbone beneath it no longer receives stimulation from chewing pressure. As a result, the bone begins to deteriorate. Over time, this can change a person's bone structure and appearance and harm the health of the neighboring natural teeth. 

Since dental implants are implanted directly into the jawbone and act like natural tooth roots, they provide vital stimulation to the jawbone, helping to keep it firm while safeguarding the health of your remaining natural teeth. 

Begin Your Smile Restoration Journey With Dental Implants in Owensboro, KY

If you are missing one or more teeth, you do not have to live with an incomplete smile and the discomforts that come with it. Instead, we encourage you to consider tooth replacement with dental implants. To learn more about our treatment options or to request a consultation with one of our experienced dentists, we welcome you to contact the Center for Cosmetic & General Dentistry today.