Dental Implant Restoration Options
In an ideal world, patients would keep all of the natural teeth - in perfectly healthy condition - for the duration of their lives. Unfortunately, most people experience the loss of at least one of their teeth over the course of their lifetimes, and many people lose most or all of their teeth.
The consequences of missing teeth extend beyond the cosmetic. Not only can missing teeth make biting, chewing, and speaking more difficult, but they can wreak havoc on a person’s oral health. When the body senses that the bone and gum tissues that once supported a tooth are no longer serving any meaningful purpose, these structures begin to degrade from disuse. This degradation affects both the site of the missing tooth and the integrity of surrounding teeth and, indeed, the entire mouth.
Thankfully, there is a potentially ideal solution for people who are missing one or more of their natural teeth in the form of dental implants. Cosmetic dentist Tim Simpson can help to restore the mouths of his patients through world-class implant dentistry. By replicating the entire structure of a missing tooth, from root to crown, dental implants not only restore beauty to smiles, but also return the oral health of patients to an optimal state, allowing the jawbone and gum tissues to remain intact. Perhaps best of all, eating, speaking, and smiling can once again be done with ease and confidence.
At Dr Simpson’s cosmetic dentistry practice, serving Big Spring, dental implants can be used to support a variety of restorations; indeed, the versatility of dental implants is part of their extraordinary appeal. For further information about implant dentistry, patients are encouraged to contact Abilene Aesthetic & Cosmetic Dentistry today.
Patient Options for Restoring Dental Implants
Dental implants can be used to replace a single tooth, several teeth (whether in a row or not), or every tooth in the mouth. The number of teeth the patient is missing and their locations in the mouth will determine how many dental implants are required, as well as the type of restorations that will be used to top them.
At Dr. Simpson’s restorative dentistry practice, dental implants can be used to support dental crowns, dental bridges, and even full sets of dentures. These restorations are attached to the dental implant posts - small titanium screws that are embedded directly in the jawbone, where they act as artificial tooth roots - via abutments that keep the restorations securely in place.
For patients who are missing only one tooth, a single dental implant can be used to secure a custom-crafted, natural-looking dental crown. Multiple crowns can be used to replace multiple missing teeth, as well; however, if those missing teeth are consecutive, dental implants can also be used to anchor dental crowns. Implant-supported dentures can be used to replace all of the teeth on the upper, lower, or both jaws.
For further information about dental implants, please call, visit, or email Dr. Simpson’s cosmetic dentistry practice today.
