The Pros of Dental Implants
Maintain Jawbone Health
Tooth roots stimulate the jawbone to regenerate healthy new cells. Once the tooth is gone, there is nothing to stimulate the regeneration of those new cells.
However, a significant benefit of dental implants is that they act the same way as a tooth root, stimulating the production of new cells that help maintain jawbone health.
Preserve Facial Structure
Your teeth give your face its shape and form and play a vital role in your overall appearance. That’s why taking care of your teeth and ensuring they remain healthy and strong is so important.
If you have a missing tooth, the soft tissues of the face above the gap have no support. Rather like a sofa that sags because the underlying spring has broken, the soft facial tissues will begin to sink into the opening, creating wrinkles and sagging skin that will change your facial structure and give you an aged appearance.
Replacing a missing tooth with a dental implant will help to maintain your facial structure and prevent premature aging. Out of all the pros and cons of dental implants, if how you look is important to you, this is a significant advantage of dental implants compared to other tooth replacement options.
Long-Lasting
A dental implant can last for over 20 years with proper care. However, some factors can affect how long implants will last, such as oral hygiene habits and the quality of the dental implants. Good oral care can help ensure that your implants last for many years—even a lifetime—a significant pro in comparison to other teeth replacement options, such as dentures.
Easy Maintenance
A significant benefit of having a dental implant is that it does not need special care or attention like dentures. You don’t need to take an implant out to clean it, and you won’t have to bother with messy adhesives—just twice-daily cleaning and flossing supplemented with visits to the dentist as often as recommended.
Look, feel and act like natural teeth
One of the pros of a dental implant is that it is the closest thing to a natural tooth in appearance, function and stability. You can almost forget that it’s not a natural tooth. Unless you tell them, no one else will ever know!
The Cons of Dental Implants
As we’re looking at both the pros and cons of dental implants, it’s only fair to highlight the cons of getting a dental implant.
Surgical Procedure
Although dental implant surgery is carried out in your dentist’s office under a local anaesthetic, it is still a surgical procedure, and some people may not be suitable for it.
Lengthy Process
The process for a dental implant is not a quick-fix solution. It involves extensive planning, dental implant surgery, and waiting while the dental implant and the bone fuse together (osseointegration).
Typically, it takes around four to six months to complete after dental implant surgery, but overall the process may take up to a year if a bone graft has been performed.
Dental Implant Failure
The success of dental implants is high, but implants can fail. This may be due to poor dental hygiene, chronic medical conditions and smoking. Smokers have a greater chance of dental implant surgery not being successful because smoking impedes the body’s healing and infection-fighting mechanisms.
Expensive
The cost of dental implants is one of the cons of the procedure. In general, they are more expensive than other tooth replacement options.
The Takeaway
When looking at the pros and cons of dental implants, most find the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Want to know more about getting a dental implant? Schedule an appointment today.
Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
References
Science Direct: Osseointegration
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/osseointegration
Implant Dentistry: The effect of smoking on dental implants and related surgery
https://journals.lww.com/implantdent/fulltext/2005/12000/the_effect_of_cigarette_smoking_on_dental_implants.11.aspx