Dental Implants Lee's Summit, MO
If you’re missing one or more teeth, you may be particularly aware of their importance to your appearance and dental health. All your teeth work together to help you chew, speak, and smile. When teeth are missing, it is difficult to do these things. Even the loss of a back tooth may cause your mouth to shift and your face to look older.
Fortunately, missing teeth can be replaced and they should be. Choosing the correct treatment is very important. One of the best options is dental implants.
A dental implant is much like a natural tooth, which has a root in your jawbone, topped by a crown that you can see. When you need a dental implant , your Lee's Summit, MO dentist inserts a metal post beneath your gum into the bone. It fuses to the bone in your jaw over a period of a few months and acts like the root of a tooth. Then your dentist makes a replacement crown to add on to the metal post, designed to blend in with the way your own teeth look and feel. Dental implants can also be used to anchor dentures.
Advantages of Dental Implants:
- An implant looks and feels just like a natural tooth
- Offers better stability than removable dentures since they are firmly attached to your jaw
- Adjacent teeth do not have to be involved in the placement procedure
- Implants may decrease or help prevent shrinkage of the jawbone from tooth loss
- With proper hygiene and care, implants can last a lifetime
Disadvantages:
- Dental implants are not intended for everyone
- Implant placement takes longer and may require more dental visits than the alternative procedures.
Our dentists in Lee's Summit, MO will determine if a dental implant is appropriate for you. 3D digital images allow us to accurately measure the bone to choose the best implant for the site. We can also determine if bone grafting and involvement of a specialist is necessary.
