When we meet patients dealing with tooth loss, we always present them with options for replacing those teeth. This urgency comes from the fact that open spaces in your mouth can result in serious side effects that may negatively impact your smile and oral health. For instance, your teeth may shift and you may deal with frustration regarding daily function problems. The good news is that we offer dental implants to replace missing teeth. Not only will implants complete your smile but they also offer a long list of additional benefits. Before you delve deeply into the world of implants, we invite you to first become familiar with the basics:
Dental Implant Basics
- What’s A Dental Implant? A dental implant is a titanium post that we will insert into your gum tissue, surgically placing it within your jawbone. We use implants as dental prosthetics that replace your missing tooth’s roots.
- About Osseointegration. Titanium is a biocompatible material, meaning it will not harm your living tissue. In fact, the titanium dental implant post will begin to fuse with your jawbone tissue over the course of healing time during a process called osseointegration. Once this process is complete, your implant and jawbone will be completely fused.
- About Abutments. An abutment is an accessory. We will place the abutment within the top of your dental implant – it will protrude just above your gumline. We will use this as the connector piece to attach your implant post to your restoration.
- Restorations and “Restoring” Your Implants. A “restoration” is the dental prosthetic we attach to your implant post that restores the visible part of your tooth. We call the process of placing the artificial tooth (or teeth) “restoring” – or “restoring your implant.” Restorations include dental crowns, full dentures, partial dentures, and even dental bridges.
ABOUT YOUR LONGVIEW, TX COSMETIC DENTISTS:
At DentaCare Dental in Longview, we focus on advanced technology, education, and comfort to offer every patient a pleasant experience and excellent dental care. To schedule a consultation, call our Longview, TX office today at (903) 758-5921. For optimal convenience, we also serve patients at our various other locations in Tyler, Garland, and Arlington, TX, as well as Bossier City, LA.