Dental implants are the latest in the field of reconstructive dental surgery. With these, one can get a new set of teeth which are as close to having natural teeth as is possible. A person’s smile, the way of talking and eating all become the same as before – the time when they had their natural set of full teeth.
First and foremost, a set of titanium screws is drilled into the jaw bone by the dental surgeon. The jaw bone, in fact, is stimulated by this process to grow around the screw and tighten it into the bone. Atop this, a dental crown is affixed. This acts as the front end of the tooth or the portion which is visible to the outside world. This crown is the same color, texture, shape, and structure of a natural tooth.
Dentures are an artificial tooth or set of teeth which have to be placed on the gums. However, this has to be taken off each night and placed in a container of distilled water. In the morning, the denture is affixed back in the same position. There is a bit of fear while using dentures. They are known to fall out when a person laughs loudly or talks in an animated manner or even while chewing hard or sticky food. This is not the case with dental implants. They are far more permanent in nature.How long do implants last? If proper care is taken of them, dental implants are known to last a lifetime. One needs to, however, visit the dentist every few months for some adjustment work in the dental crowns and the perhaps even in the titanium screws.
Sometimes a tooth or teeth get badly infected. However, the dentist may wish to salvage them and not extract them. The procedure to be adopted in these cases is root canal therapy or endodontic treatment. However, if the tooth is so rotten or broken or damaged that it cannot be salvaged, then one has to extract them. One cannot leave a tooth missing in the mouth since the teeth which are adjoining this missing one or ones will over time, start loosening their grip on the gums and too, will fall off. Hence, it is best to replace them with dentures or with implants.
Placing dental implants in the jaw bone is a complicated procedure. It involves surgery, and hence the person has to be put under anesthesia. Thus, there is the discomfort of having injections given in the mouth for local anesthesia or elsewhere if the dental surgeon is opting for general anesthesia. Also, after the surgery, the person has to have the prescribed painkillers and antibiotics.For details, contact: East Cobb Family Dentistry, 2969 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta, GA 30062Call: (770) 913-6800.