Tooth loss is traumatic. Your smile looks and operates its best when all of your teeth are present, and losing even one can throw your entire bite off balance and have other negative impacts on your oral health. Luckily, there are myriad options for you to replace your lost teeth, whether you’ve lost one, some, most, or all of them. In fact, the art and science of dental care has advanced enough that we can now replace your teeth’s roots as well as the visible portions (crowns), offering a total tooth replacement that’s as secure as your natural, healthy teeth on their roots. To underscore the importance and benefits of placing your dental prosthesis on one or more dental implants, your Austin dentist, Dr. Van Wicklen, explains the modern marvels, how they can replace your entire tooth, and how they help prevent the continuing destruction that follows tooth loss.
Consequences of Tooth Loss
A gapped smile is only one result of tooth loss (and one of the more obvious ones). By placing the appropriate number of replacement teeth in the empty spaces, you can help restore your smile’s beauty and its ability to eat and enunciate properly. What you may not know, however, is that your healthy tooth roots are embedded in your jawbone and help keep it healthy through stimulation when you bite and chew. Losing a tooth root can result in the slow deterioration of your jawbone, as the lack of stimulation equals a diminished supply of nutrients, since your jaw no longer has that tooth to support. Over time, your weakened jaw can lose its ability to retain the rest of your teeth, leading to more tooth loss and faster jawbone deterioration.
The Only Complete Tooth Replacement
As the only option that replaces your tooth’s root, a dental implant is surgically inserted into your jawbone. The bone fuses to the implant’s biocompatible titanium surface, effectively creating a prosthetic tooth root to place your prosthetic tooth upon. Not only can you restore your ability to eat and speak, dental implants can restore the root stimulation that helps keep your jawbone well-nourished, strong, and healthy.
Dental Implants & More with Your Austin Dentist
If you’ve lost one or more teeth and would like to learn if dental implants are right for you, then schedule an appointment with your Austin dentist by calling 512-448-3131. Located in the 78704 area, we proudly serve the cities of Austin, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Bastrop, Bee Cave, Cedar Park, and all surrounding communities.