Losing a tooth can affect much more than just the appearance of your smile. The longer it is left untreated, this more likely you are to suffer additional problems with your bite and overall oral health. Without a full set of teeth, your ability to enjoy a meal worsens as you find certain foods harder to chew. You may damage your jaw muscles as you move them in unnatural ways to accommodate what is missing. At our Ankeny, IA dentist’s office, we can correct these problems through implant dentistry. By placing a dental implant, we can provide structural support to your mouth while greatly improving its appearance.
How Does Tooth Loss Impact Your Health?
Losing one of your teeth can be a shock in many ways. The impact affects more than just your smile. You may develop consistent pain and stress in your face as you change your bite to work around the missing gap. Speaking certain words becomes difficult. Left untreated, the missing gap ceases to stimulate the area of the jawbone previously served by your tooth’s roots. Without stimulation, the tissue begins to deteriorate which compounds your oral health problems. Your remaining teeth may shift out of place as they loosen and are susceptible to falling out as well. Your facial features distort as your cheek sinks into your face. A dental implant can offer a long-term solution to keep a replacement tooth secure and prevent this damage from progressing.
How Do We Place Dental Implants?
A dental implant post that mimics the natural root of your tooth is inserted into your jawbone where the missing tooth once sat. The jawbone tissues fuse to it as you heal, which allows the restoration to provide support to the rest of your oral structure through stimulating the entire bone. In fact, a dental implant is the only tooth replacement that can maintain your jawbone’s integrity in this manner. Once the post is installed and the gum area has healed, we attach a crown to the top of the implant which restores the function of your bite and emulates the appearance of your original tooth. We then recommend you schedule your semiannual dental exams which give us a chance to check on the condition of your implant while performing routine cleanings.
Speak To Your Ankeny, IA Dentist About Implant Dentistry And Its Benefits!
Dental implants restore critical stimulation to your jaw and allow the installation of a dental crown which mimics the appearance and function of the original tooth. For more information on placing a dental implant, schedule an appointment with your Ankeny, IA dentist at 515-207-6182. We gladly serve patients who live in Alleman, Elkhart, Bondurant, and all other surrounding communities.
