Dental implants are just one of several different tooth replacement options. However, they’re the option that may have the most dramatic positive impact on your overall quality of life. The following are some reasons why dental implants may be the best choice of tooth replacement for you.
Increase or Maintain Your Bite Power
Dental implants allow you to chew as well as you could with your natural teeth.
You might be surprised by how strong your jawbone and natural teeth actually are. With your natural teeth and a healthy jaw, you can bite with around 200 to 250 pounds of force. That’s pretty impressive. However, as you lose teeth, you lose bite force along with them. Dentures can give you back some of that bite force, but not very much — with a full set of dentures, you’ll have around 50 pounds of bite force. That’s a significant drop.
That drop makes the difference between eating foods you like, and eating foods that are soft enough to eat easily. It also makes the difference between being able to chew thoroughly or not. Not chewing your food thoroughly can lead to gastrointestinal problems, as the food will begin to rot in your stomach if it’s not sufficiently broken down for your body to digest.
Dental implants can give you all or most of your bite force back. You probably won’t notice too much of a difference between your ability to chew with your implants and the ability you had with your natural teeth. That means that you’ll get to enjoy the foods you like best and continue to digest your food in a healthy way.
Improve Your Appearance
With dental implants, you’ll have a healthy smile that you can show o with pride.
Let’s face it — missing teeth are not the most attractive feature. And while it might be unfair and superficial to judge people by their looks, the fact is that a lot of people do just that. In fact, your smile (or lack thereof) is one of the first things that people will notice about you, and it’s one of the things that they’ll remember the longest. Missing teeth can hold you back socially and professionally, and they can be a source of embarrassment, whether they should be or not.
Dentures only partially x the problem. They can come loose and slip while you’re talking or eating, and partial dentures may not exactly match your missing teeth. Dentures are better than no tooth replacement at all, but many people who wear them still feel awkward and embarrassed by their teeth. Implants, however, look no different from natural teeth once they’re in place. Only you and your dentist will know that you have dental implants. Replacing your teeth with implants can be a boost to your confidence and improve your social and professional prospects.
Maintain Jaw Bone Mass
When you lose teeth, you’re also at risk of losing bone mass in your jaw. This is because your tooth roots are no longer stimulating the jaw bone each time your teeth connect, and over time, that lack of stimulation results in bone loss. This can cause pain, chewing problems, and an altered appearance.
Dentures and bridges do nothing to correct this problem. These tooth replacement options sit on top of your gums, and don’t stimulate the jaw bone in any way. Dental implants, however, include a titanium post that attaches to the jawbone and acts like a replacement for a tooth root. These titanium posts can stimulate your jaw bone and prevent bone loss and the problems that go with it.
If you’re in the market for tooth replacement options, dental implants might be the right choice for you. To make an appointment with a dentist who is experienced in implant dentistry, call us today.
