Dental implants can replace one or more missing teeth. When the root of a tooth is removed from the jawbone, the bone that surrounded the tooth eventually dissolves leaving less jaw bone in that area. This can lead to a change in the appearance of the face such as a collapsed, sunken look. If a front tooth, it certainly is not attractive. An implant actually replaces the root, as well as the tooth, resulting in the bone reattaching to the implant and your natural, healthy appearance being restored.
Additional benefits include maintaining the surrounding teeth. Although a bridge is an option for a missing tooth, the surrounding teeth must be damaged to make a bridge fit correctly. Think of an implant as “a one tooth solution to a one tooth problem!” Impnats generally last longer then bridgework and when bridgework fails, other teeth are now involved when they never needed to be in the first place with the implant.
The best thing about dental implants is that they feel natural and allow you to do exactly what you would do with your own natural teeth. You can chew on fruit and vegetables, sneeze, and laugh and not have to worry that the tooth will come out or be damaged (unlike with dentures or a bridge).
