Pros And Cons Of Endosseous Dental Implants
Posted on: 22 July 2016
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A tooth lost due to decay or trauma needs replacing as soon as possible for both cosmetic and practical reasons. Dental implants have become one of the more popular dental replacement options. Endosseous implants, the most common type, involve the dentist drilling a well into the jawbone then dropping a metal root into the well. The jawbone heals around the root over time for stability then the dentist can affix an artificial tooth to the root's top.
Endosseous implants do have some pros and cons to consider in conjunction with your cosmetic dentistry specialist. These factors can help determine if this type of dental implant would work best for your situation.
Pro: Natural Look and Feel
Endosseous dental implants have a natural appearance but more distinctly also have a fairly natural feel when chewing. The natural feel is thanks to the bone-supported root, which won't shift while chewing like a partial denture or some other types of dental replacements.
The natural feel can also help you feel more comfortable while talking or simply holding your mouth shut. And the artificial tooth portion of the dental implant can be tinted to match your other teeth so that you don't have a clearly fake tooth in your mouth.
Pro: Promotes Bone and Soft Tissue Health
Natural teeth move ever so slightly inside your mouth. The friction, which you don't feel, provides a valuable service in stimulating the jawbone. The stimulation helps promote jawbone growth and health. The healthy jawbone in turn helps keep the surrounding gum tissue healthy.
Loss of a natural tooth can cause the jawbone to start to erode fairly soon after the loss. An endosseous dental implant's root is one of the only artificial mimics of the tooth root's friction that can keep promoting the jawbone health even after the natural tooth is gone.
Con: Requires Healthy Jawbone
A dental implant root can help keep jawbone healthy but, in a bit of a Catch 22, you can't receive an endosseous implant unless your current jawbone is fairly healthy and dense. Eroded or less dense jawbone won't fuse around the root properly and can cause the dental implant to fail or fall out.
If you do have weak jawbone, ask your cosmetic dentist about the possibility of a bone graft. The graft uses material from elsewhere in the mouth or from an outside donor to build up the jawbone in the area of the implant. The graft bone fuses together with the existing bone and then your dental implant root is inserted to begin the dental replacement process. To learn more, contact a dental clinic like Eagle Mountain Family Dental.