Missing teeth are a major problem that will affect every aspect of a person’s life. It’s hard to understand the true effect of missing teeth unless you have experienced it. Hopefully that doesn’t happen, but missing teeth affect the way to eat, smile, and even speak. That’s why our Honolulu Hawaii dental office offers different solution to correct your missing teeth. Today, one of our best ways to replace missing teeth is with dental implants.
Dental implants are versatile and can be used to replace single missing teeth, large gaps of missing teeth, and entire arches of missing teeth. Today we want to discuss some of the key benefits of dental implants. Here are the highlights:
- Implants improve your biting power
- Implants give you a more youthful appearance
- Implants can last forever
Implants Improve Your Biting Power
Perhaps the biggest benefit of dental implants is that they give you superior biting power. The main issue with replacement tooth options like removable dentures is function. Dentures rest on the gums. They only stay in the mouth because of suction (for upper dentures), fit, and adhesives. If you have dentures, you are probably aware that the dentures will shift in the mouth whenever you eat, speak, or even smile. Here’s an interesting fact about dentures: They have only about 25 to 50 percent of the biting force of natural teeth.
Dental implants nearly match the power of your natural teeth, so you can eat whatever you want and never have to worry about your teeth falling out. Many of the patients we see with removable dentures have trouble eating foods like corn-on-cob, steak, pizza, sandwiches, crunchy fruits and vegetables. Whenever you have implants, you no longer have to be selective about food. You can eat whatever you want again.
Implants Improve Your Appearance
When the teeth are lost, the jawbone and face will begin to change shape. This happens because the jawbone is literally receding. The recession will occur quickly after the teeth are lost. Jawbone recession causes a few physical changes. The nose and chin will literally move closer together, and then you’ll develop wrinkles around the mouth. You’ve probably noticed that people without teeth have a “sunken in” appearance. We’ve found that people without teeth often look older than they are.
Implants prevent the jawbone from further receding and give you a more youthful appearance.
Implants Can Last Forever
Placing an Implant is considered oral surgery, but it’s an incredibly successful treatment. For starters, almost anyone is a candidate for dental implants. You just need to have enough jawbone density and be in good enough oral health. Secondly, dental implants are placed with a 98 percent success rate. So, while we need to place implants through surgery, the procedure is not risky.
Additionally, implants do not get cavities and can last forever with proper oral care.
Getting Your Implants at A Downtown Dental Group
Our Honolulu Hawaii dental office uses two types of dental implants: traditional dental implants and mini dental implants. The difference is that, as you might have guessed, the mini dental implant is smaller in diameter. It’s ideal for people who have jawbone recession and are not candidates for traditional dental implants. Mini dental implants have given more people access to dental implants. Before these implants, patients had to endure additional surgeries like bone and gum grafting to support the implant. Our practice offers both solutions to give you more choices in your dental care.
If you’re struggling with missing teeth, you’d love to sit down with you and discuss your options and smile goals.
Give us a call today at 808-797-3680 to book your visit.