The Importance of Replacing Missing Teeth
Your teeth work together to help you smile, eat, and talk. When you are missing even one tooth, these instinctive actions become difficult to do. Not to mention, having missing teeth can be embarrassing. The way you look and feel about your appearance can have a negative impact on your life.
Dr. Sinclair and Dr. Reichley use dental implants as a solution for missing teeth in their Norfolk, VA cosmetic dentistry office. Did you know that tooth loss causes shifting of your teeth and an unbalanced bite? Many patients know that they have to do something about it.
Missing teeth can cause some serious problems for your dental health. It can lead to tooth decay, gum disease, jawbone deterioration, and more tooth loss. Here are five ways that missing teeth can affect your oral health:
- Missing teeth can cause tooth decay. Voids that lost teeth leave behind makes bone deteriorate faster. This causes your mouth to change shape and opens up opportunity for bacteria to easily infect your teeth.
- Missing teeth can make it more difficult to clean your mouth.
- Missing teeth may lead to an uneven bite which could in turn lead to jaw pain and headaches.
- Missing teeth can lead to gum disease. As mentioned earlier, missing teeth creates voids that help bacteria thrive and infect gum pockets.
- Missing teeth may affect the alignment of the rest of your mouth, which could have a negative impact on your smile and speech patterns too.
Parts of a Dental Implant
Implant post
This is the bottom part of the dental implant. It is a cylinder-shaped bio-compatible titanium post that resembles a screw. An oral surgeon will surgically embed this post right below your gum line and into your jaw bone. It will eventually fuse to the jawbone, thus creating a permanent and secure bond. This titanium post will act like a natural tooth root. We can conduct the surgical procedure in our Norfolk area dental office.
Abutment
This is a small part that connects to the top of the implant post. We will connect the abutment to the implant post after your mouth fully heals and fuses with the post. It usually takes around 3-6 months for it to fuse. The abutment will screw right onto the implant post and will sit right at the gum line. This part will support the dental prosthesis.
Prosthetic tooth
The prosthetic tooth is the part that your dentist will match to your real teeth. The prosthetic can be a dental crown for a single missing tooth. To place the dental crown, your dentist will screw it onto the abutment. If you are replacing many teeth, the dentist will use a dental bridge or denture as the prosthetic. A denture or dental bridge attaches to the abutment by simply snapping them into place. Your dentist will make sure that all prosthetics will blend seamlessly with your natural teeth.
The Benefits of Choosing Our Dental Office
Dr. Sinclair and Dr. Reichley offer dental implants under one roof. That means no specialists, no different doctors, and no driving around. From treatment planning to your final restoration, our in-house dental care team has your best interests in mind. By choosing Dr. Sinclair and Dr. Reichley to do your dental implants in Virginia Beach, VA, it will save you travel time to other offices and the hassle of additional bills.
Having only one doctor work on your case from start-to-finish means that your dental implant process is more precise. With proper care, bi-annual checkups and teeth cleanings, your dental implants should last forever.
To find out more about dental implants, visit:
Dr. Cappy Sinclair and Dr. Mark Reichley offer dental implants to patients in our Norfolk, VA area dental office. If you’re missing one or more teeth, dental implants are the best restorative dentistry option for your smile. Schedule a visit for a dental implant consultation today.