What did Mother Nature design your teeth to do? Why, to bite into your food and chew it. Along the way, we also evolved the smile as a tool of communication and we learned to use our tongue and teeth to make certain sounds which became language. But mostly, teeth are there to help us eat.
So, when you start losing your teeth and your dentist tells you that you are going to have to give up certain foods because your replacement teeth just can’t cope with processing them, it can be a bitter blow. Or at least, it used to be a that way. These days, you don’t have to give up anything if you get your missing teeth replaced with dental implants in Stanmore from us at Centre of Dental Excellence.
What’s so great about dental implants in Stanmore?
Dental implants are different from other replacement methods. They are the only way to replace the entire tooth, crown and root. Until recently, you could only get the crowns replaced, with either dentures or fixed bridgework. But now, dental implants in Stanmore replace the roots of lost teeth with tapered screws or posts made out of titanium.
These are inserted into an artificial sockets drilled into the jawbone. The procedure is carried out under local anaesthetic and people who are very anxious about it can have sedation so that they can relax while their implants are being fitted.
Titanium is highly biocompatible and over the next few weeks the jawbone grows new tissue all over the surface of the implants and this holds them in place. It’s not quite the same as roots, which are held in their sockets by lots of fibres, but it’s the nearest we have yet come to mimicking natural teeth.
The crowns are attached via connecting components called abutments. One dental implant can hold up to 3 teeth on a bridge.
Dental implants are easy to maintain, requiring only careful twice-daily brushing and flossing to remove plaque and so avoid gum disease. They can last for at least 15 years, probably decades, and sometimes the rest of your life.