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Dallas, TX – When you lose a permanent tooth from either trauma or natural decay, a cosmetic dentist has a few options to replace the missing tooth and help restore your smile. One of those options is a dental implant and these implants can provide a wonderful solution for most patients. Once installed the dental implant will feel like your original tooth and should provide you with years of trouble-free use with proper oral hygiene.

A dental implant can be used to replace a single tooth or a few missing teeth and the procedure for both is relatively the same. To use a dental implant the dentist must first remove whatever is left of the original tooth through extraction. Once this tooth is removed, the dentist will drill a pilot hole in the patients jawbone directly below where the original tooth was located. He will then insert a specialized metal screw into this pilot hole that will act as the anchor for the replacement tooth. This anchor will initially be below the gum line for a few months as it bonds with the jawbone in a process called Osseointegration. Once this bonding is complete, a mounting post is attached to the anchor that will protrude above the gum line and will act as the mounting for a crown. The dentist will prepare this crown as if he were attaching it to a normal tooth by making a clay impression of the patient’s mouth to use as a guide for the laboratory. Once the fabricated crown is ready, it is attached to the mounting post with dental adhesive and the repair is complete.

There are many advantages to using a dental implant to replace a missing tooth and the procedure has been used for years with a very impressive success rate with patients of all ages. The completed repair will closely mimic the original tooth and allow the patient to bite and chew as they would have normally. Also, because the dental implant is anchored to the jaw like a natural tooth, it presents a very secure solution. Unlike partial dentures that tend to shift when chewing, the dental implant is secure in its mounting.

The other advantage the dental implant has over competing solutions like a bridge is that it tends to stimulate the bone beneath the missing tooth while chewing. This will help reduce the absorption of the jawbone found in many other procedures. When other methods are employed to replace a missing tooth, they tend to sit above the gum line and if the bone below the repair is not stimulated, it starts to get thinner through absorption over time. This can change the patients jaw alignment and shift other teeth in their mouths. Since the dental implant is anchored to the jaw itself, it stimulates the bone like a regular tooth and helps avoid this bone absorption.

The dental implant can also be used to anchor a partial denture for patients as well. In this case, several smaller dental implants are placed in the patients jaw and the denture is modified to attach to these dental implants and is secured in place. The modern dental implant provides a great alternative to other methods of tooth replacement and might be the perfect solution for you.