If you lose one tooth, or several, then your overall oral health could suffer, and you could develop problems eating and speaking. In order to address tooth loss, whether minor or severe, then your Mansfield, TX, dentists may recommend a dental implant. But how do we plan treatment and place them?
When Do You Need Tooth Replacement?
When we lose a tooth, the gap in our smile could lead to serious complications. For example, surrounding teeth may move from position, drifting due to the gap. The resulting misalignment impacts your appearance and increases the risk of tooth decay and gum disease. For others, the pressure on the jaw joints could mean a higher risk of TMJ disorder and bruxism. The lack of tooth roots means the body suspends the flow of nutrients to that portion of the jaw, causing the tissue to break down and leading to further tooth loss and an aged appearance. We need to replace missing teeth in order to return function and beauty to the smile, and to safeguard overall oral health.
Planning Treatment
First, we need to make sure you have enough strong jawbone tissue to support a new tooth. If you don’t, then we may need to first recommend a bone grafting procedure. We also watch for the presence of gum disease as the advanced stage of the disease could cause your new tooth to fail. We may need to manage the disease with regular treatment before moving forward. Finally, we will use 3D cone-beam imaging technology to create a detailed 3D model of your teeth, jaw, gums, and oral structure. We can choose the optimal area and angle to place your dental implant, inserting the screw-like device into the jawbone. The dental implant will bond with the jawbone through a process known as osseointegration, which allows the implant to act as a new tooth root.
Restoring Your New Tooth
After we place the dental implant, we will need to wait four to six months for the area to heal and osseointegration to take place. Once the healing period is complete, we will add a restoration to address the visible aspects of your new tooth. Typically, we add an abutment and attach a dental crown. The crown is strong and can absorb bite forces and pressures. We create them from ceramic and other lifelike materials, to ensure they offer a natural and translucent appearance, and can shade them to match the color of surrounding teeth. If you have any questions about this process, then contact our team today.
Do You Have a Missing Tooth?
We would love to help you enjoy a full and stunning smile. To learn more about implant dentistry, then schedule a consultation by calling our dentist’s office in Mansfield, TX, today at 817-473-6227.
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