Sometimes it’s difficult to truly appreciate the importance of your teeth until you’re missing one. We depend on our teeth for the most basic daily functions. Teeth are obviously important for biting, chewing, and talking, and your smile plays an important role in your appearance, self-confidence, and how you socialize with others both personally and professionally. Missing teeth can be highly disruptive to your life, which leaves many patients seeking the best possible treatment.

The good news is if you’re suffering from tooth loss, you have many options available. Dentures, crowns, and bridges can all help fill the gap left by missing teeth; however, these options come with both pros and cons. But there is one groundbreaking solution that is widely considered the best option. That solution is dental implants.

Dental implants have been around for decades, and some evidence suggests they were even being used 4,000 years ago. However, today they’re more affordable and accessible than ever before. Implants are permanent fixtures secured directly to the jaw, and the best part is they look and feel exactly like real teeth. Below, we’ll tell you all about the many advantages dental implants can offer you:

Benefits Of Dental Implants

Dental implants truly allow you to get back to feeling like your old self, and they offer numerous benefits over other options like dentures and bridges. Most patients with one or more implants find it easy to forget the implants are even there. Some of the main advantages include:

Improved Oral Function

Missing teeth force you to adjust the way you chew and speak. Depending on the location of the missing teeth, these tasks can become significantly more difficult which has a profound negative impact on your quality of life. Tooth replacement options such as bridges and dentures can help solve the problem, but they’re not without their flaws. Dentures can sometimes make it difficult to eat hard or sticky foods — plus, they have to be regularly removed and cleaned. While bridges feel like real teeth, they can place neighboring teeth under a significant amount of stress which can result in damage.

Dental implants are stable and permanent. Once in place and fully healed, implants feel like real teeth. You’ll be able to bite and chew exactly like you did prior to tooth loss. You don’t need to worry about adhesives or dietary restrictions. Because implants are designed to mimic real teeth, they also restore clear speech and allow you to properly articulate words and sounds.  This improved level of oral function is why implants are such a popular treatment.

Better Oral Health

Losing a tooth isn’t just uncomfortable, it can adversely affect your oral health. To make matters worse, not all replacement options offset these negative effects. Implants are the best option when it comes to improving or maintaining good oral health.

• Implants Prevent Jawbone Deterioration 
  When you lose a tooth, your jaw no longer receives regular stimulation around the area once occupied by the tooth. This lack of stimulation can ultimately cause your jaw to begin to deteriorate. As your jaw continues to weaken, it might lose its ability to secure neighboring teeth in place, resulting in more tooth loss. A deteriorating jaw can also cause significant shifts in surrounding teeth as well as changes to your facial structure and appearance.Unlike dentures or bridges, implants connect directly to your jaw, so they’re able to function like real teeth and provide your bone with the stimulation necessary to keep it healthy and strong.
• Implants Prevent Gum Recession
  When your jaw begins to deteriorate, your gums may also start to recede. Receding gums is a serious issue that can lead to all kinds of oral health challenges. For one, receding gums actually increase the chance of developing gum disease. This is because when gums recede, gaps form between the gums and teeth making it easy for bacteria to gather and grow. Two, as gums weaken, they’re more likely to lose their ability to secure your teeth in place. Your teeth will begin to start feeling “wiggly” and may eventually fall out. This is why untreated tooth loss has a compounding effect over time. Because implants prevent deterioration, they can also prevent gum recession and the associated oral health problems.
• Dental Implants Don’t Impact Neighboring Teeth
  Dental bridges are another common treatment for tooth loss, and bridges can be very effective. However, dental bridges are secured in place by surrounding teeth, which can place them under stress. These neighboring teeth often need to be filed down to support the bridge, which means you’re losing pieces of healthy teeth in order to fill the gap. Because dental implants connect directly to the jaw, there is no harm to neighboring teeth.
• Dental Implants Are Easy To Clean
  Unlike dentures, which need to be removed and cleaned daily, implants can’t be removed. Cleaning implants is as easy as maintaining your normal brushing and flossing schedule, so you won’t have to introduce any new maintenance into your daily routine. Because implants are so easy to clean, they make it easy to maintain good oral hygiene.

A Healthier And Brighter Smile

As implant dentistry specialists, we love having the opportunity to witness patients’ joy when they finally have their smiles back. It’s one of the best parts of our job.

Tooth loss can really impact a patient’s self-esteem. A visible gap in your teeth can lead to feelings of inadequacy or shame. You may be afraid to smile or speak, which can negatively impact your personal and professional relationships, and lead to self-isolation, depression, and anxiety.

Because implants look like real teeth, people truly can’t tell the difference. This means you can have your healthy, bright, and natural-looking smile back, which can help you to feel good about your appearance and yourself.

While there are many options available for tooth loss, dental implants are really the best invention in modern dentistry. Once your implants are fully installed, it’s almost like tooth loss never happened. Because implants are designed to last decades, good oral hygiene is the only thing you’ll need to worry about.

If you’re looking for Central Florida’s leading implant dentistry practice, get in touch with us at Ormond Beach Periodontics. Our commitment to patient comfort and satisfaction has earned us a solid reputation across the communities we serve. Schedule your consultation today.