For people who’ve lost teeth and need to replace them, dental implants are a popular solution for many reasons. Most importantly, they replace your lost teeth roots, which give a custom bridge or denture a much higher level of comfort and support. Yet, implants do a lot more than that, and for the sake of your long-term oral health, they can be the most comprehensive tooth replacement option. For example, by replacing your lost teeth roots, they can also help you reduce your risks of losing one or more teeth in the future.
Why tooth loss leads to more tooth loss
The loss of a tooth has several important impacts on your oral health, and many of the most significant ones involve the loss of the tooth’s root. Situated within sockets in your jawbone, healthy natural teeth roots are meant to stimulate your jaw when you bite and chew. This is how your body knows how many teeth your jawbone needs to support, and how many minerals and nutrients to send it. If you lose a tooth root, your body knows it, and will respond by sending its minerals and nutrients elsewhere. This makes your jawbone weaker over time, and if not addressed, it can lead to the loss of more teeth.
What a dental implant is meant to do
A dental implant post is a small root-like prosthetic appliance that is placed within your jawbone where you’ve lost one or more teeth roots. The main purpose of the implant post is to replace your lost tooth root, which means it does more for your smile than just improve its appearance. When the post is placed, your jawbone will fuse to its surface as it heals, making the implant post almost as sturdy and secure as your remaining healthy, natural teeth roots. This also gives it the ability to support your replacement tooth or teeth more securely, and to reestablish stimulation in your jawbone to help preserve its strength and integrity in the future.
What this prevents in the long-run
When your jawbone’s nutrient supply diminishes, it can grow weaker and smaller over time, gradually losing mass and density. This is one of the main impacts of tooth loss that often leads to further tooth loss, and is one of the most important consequences that dental implants are designed to address. By stimulating your jawbone once again, dental implants help it maintain its healthy supply of minerals and nutrients, and therefore, its healthy mass and density.
Save your smile with dental implants
After experiencing tooth loss, you can reduce your risks of losing more by rebuilding your smile with dental implants. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling Santa Rosa Oral Surgery in Santa Rosa, CA, today at 707-545-4625.