Dental Implants.
How we help better service you and your dental needs.
Dental Implants
When dentures were invented for the first time, they left a lot to be desired. For thousands of years, humans have been looking for a safe, reliable and effective way to replace missing teeth. Without them, eating becomes more difficult, enunciation can be challenging, and the appearance of your smile can be affected if these missing teeth are toward the front of the mouth.
Early attempts at dentures used a combination of wire, wood, or bamboo to hold together an arch that could be placed into the mouth. These efforts were rarely effective, leading the patient to suffer the effects of nutritional deficiency if eating became too difficult.
Modern dentistry has offered various solutions to missing teeth that can replace either all or some teeth, as needed. Dental bridges offer concealment of gaps where teeth have been lost, and dentures of various configurations can be made to substitute natural teeth and provide the improved esthetic that patients are seeking. Still, dentures leave a lot to be desired for some patients.
Living with Dentures
While dentures may seem like an easy solution to the problem of absent natural teeth, the reality is that, while they do offer significant benefit, many patients find wearing dentures challenging. The false teeth used in dentures do not behave as natural teeth in terms of their functionality. Where natural teeth can be used to mash or grind, dentures must be used to chew carefully. It is necessary to cut food portions and distribute them across both sides of the mouth in order to chew effectively without the risk of dislodging the dentures. Careful chewing is time consuming and challenges can often result in elderly patients with reduced appetites refusing food, leading to chronic challenges in their nutrition.
Dentures with a full upper palate provide a unique challenge, since important taste buds on the roof of the mouth are prevented from interacting with food. This results in a significant reduction in ability to taste foods which, combined with difficult chewing, does not promote good nutrition.
Since dentures rely on suction and adhesive to remain in place, many patients struggle to keep dentures in place. Changes in the jaw due to resorption mean that it is difficult to maintain an ideal fit with dentures. This can result in challenges with dentures slipping, clicking or rubbing painfully against gum tissues, resulting in further disinterest in wearing them and eating with them.
Get a Dazzling Smile At Morrison Centre
We look forward to providing you with quality dental care in Fort McMurray & surrounding area to ensure you have a healthy and happy smile for life! Please give us a call @ 780-743-3570 or request an appointment online.
All services performed by a general dentist.
Dental Implants
Recent further advances in dental technology have been made possible due to the discovery of titanium osseointegration. In simple terms, researchers have discovered that when titanium is anchored into bone, it forms a strong bond with it over time. This discovery has led to dental implants, which use titanium rods to replace a missing tooth. Titanium rods are screwed into the jawbone and left to integrate with the bone as it heals. Once the false titanium root is well integrated, a false tooth called a pontic is attached to the rod using an abutment. Once in place, a dental implant can last thirty years or more and is the most realistic substitute for natural teeth.
Implant Benefits
Dental implants are a reliable way to avoid the primary complaints involved in wearing dentures. Without the need for adhesive, dental implants remain sturdy and in place throughout your day. There are no food restrictions involved with dental implants, unlike dentures which can become dislodged when sticky or hard foods are consumed. With implants, there is no painful rubbing of materials against the gums or cheeks and enunciation is easy without the added foreign material in the mouth.
Perhaps the biggest advantage in dental implants, however, is their ability to retain healthy bone structure in the mouth to prevent loss of bone strength and avoid changes in the lower face and profile. These changes are the result of bone resorption, which describes changes in the bone structure of the jaw due to the lack of stimulation.
In a healthy jaw, tooth roots transfer bite forces into the jawbone every time we chew. This pressure is required to maintain the vitamins and minerals required for jaw strength. Without this stimulation, the jaw begins to shrink and change, and dentures provide only 10% of the bite force of a natural tooth. You might compare this to the maintenance of muscle mass. In order to grow and maintain muscle, we must show our bodies that we require it by using our muscles regularly to lift and bear weight. If we stop exercising, our muscles decrease in size. This decrease in the size and change in structure in the jaw is responsible for the shortening of the facial profile common in many denture wearers.
Dental implants are a long-term investment in your oral health, so speak to your dentist to find out whether you are a candidate and what financial investment would be required.
If you have questions about this or other services offered by our general dentists, contact our clinic today.