Choosing to opt for dental implant treatment can greatly enhance the look and feel of your teeth, as well as enhance the quality of your life if you’re living in pain, discomfort or with embarrassment. At Genuine Smiles, we specialise in cosmetic and restorative dentistry treatments to assist patients with any tooth ailment or need.
We unpack what dental implants are, why they are so successful and the advantages of having dental implant treatment.
Dental implants explained
What is a dental implant?
Whether through decay, disease, or injury, tooth or teeth loss is a reality for many Australians. Living with an unsightly missing tooth can cause many people anxiety and make them feel very self-conscious.
A dental implant is a procedure in which a missing tooth or teeth are replaced with a prosthetic tooth or crown that is fixed into the jaw using an implant fixture or screw. The implant will closely resemble a natural tooth and will almost always look exactly like your other teeth; no-one will even notice that it is a replacement.
How are dental implants inserted?
Firstly, the implant fixture, or titanium screw will be inserted into the jawbone whilst the patient is under sedation. This part of the process sounds much more painful than it actually is and many of our patients experience little to no pain during and after this procedure.
Once the implant fixture is attached to the jaw, a porcelain crown, a fixed bridge, or a removable prosthesis (such as a denture) can be fitted to it. A dental implant or implant fixture effectively acts as the root of a tooth.
Why are dental implant procedures so successful?
There are multiple benefits to dental implant treatment and procedures that many people across Australia experience, which include:
- Dental implants can reduce the load placed on other teeth by creating an independent support structure for crowns, bridges and dentures.
- Teeth adjacent to the dental implant are not damaged in any way.
- Implants help preserve the jawbone at the site where the tooth was missing or had to be taken out.
- Implants will last longer than other methods of dental tooth replacement.
- Implants can provide excellent denture stabilisation – far better than conventional dentures.
- With implant-supported overdentures you are able to speak, chew and eat far more efficiently than traditional full dentures.
- Implants are aesthetically pleasing, functional, and reliable.
- They are comfortable and feel like your own natural teeth.
- Dental implants do not decay.
What other types of teeth replacement treatments are there?
As mentioned, there are other forms of tooth replacement procedures that work in conjunction with dental implants, namely;
Bridges, as their name suggests, act as a bridge to close the gap between one or more missing teeth. Bridges are often fixed prosthetics that consist of two crowns on the teeth, with the bridge being fitted to these crowns. Fake or dummy teeth are then placed in the middle of the bridge to give a natural tooth look.
A denture is a removable apparatus that acts as a replacement for missing teeth. It is usually handmade from a mould of the patient’s mouth and is made out of hard acrylic resin and cobalt chromium. Dentures are one of the most economical ways of replacing missing teeth.
No matter what your dental need may be, we suggest consulting a professional dentist who has many years’ worth of experience, like the team at Genuine Smiles, who can guide and assist you in deciding what is the best dental treatment option for your individual needs would be.
Contact Genuine Smiles today – the most holistic, professional family dentist in Kogarah.
