When a tooth is lost due to trauma, decay or periodontal disease the surrounding bone material immediately becomes compromised. Additionally, the missing tooth no longer helps distribute pressure during chewing and biting, thereby increasing the amount of pressure and bite force placed on the remaining teeth. The additional pressure on the remaining teeth can be responsible for fractures to those teeth, excessive wear, and all too often, the remaining teeth drift or shift to new positions in the jaw and in so doing, change the patients overall bite.
Changes in bite and tooth placement due to shifting can typically affect the aesthetics of a smile; what you may not know is that it can also compromise the health of the remaining teeth. First, by creating changes in how straight teeth are, potentially diminishes your ability to clean properly. Secondly, drifting teeth might not be properly aligned and the bite force from normal chewing may potentially chip or crack teeth. Lastly, the eventual bone and soft tissue loss (without proper restoration) can leave nearby teeth more susceptible to decay and disease.
There also is a medical link for a potential increased frequency in headaches, migraine headaches and even TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorders) related to tooth loss or tooth extraction without proper restoration. Even small changes in bite and tooth placement have been identified as having the capacity to be problematic.
It used to be common practice to replace a single missing tooth with a fixed bridge. Unfortunately a bridge does not address any of the negative effects of a missing tooth. Soft tissues still retreat, bone mass in the jaw is still absorbed, and the surrounding teeth are compromised by the process of preparing them for the bridge. With the lack of adequate bone and soft tissues the remaining teeth often become susceptible to drifting. Decay and rot also threaten the neighboring teeth once they’ve been drilled and filed for the bridge.
For decades dentist have been able to surgically implant permanent teeth to take the place of a tooth lost from trauma, decay or disease. For several decades dentist have been using all ceramic implants. The post that goes into the jaw bone is no longer metal (having potential side effects and unsightly silver-grey hue emitted through the new tooth), but beautiful, white, clean, precision ceramic. Ceramics have proven over and over to be the ideal long term solution when getting an implant. Uniquely capable of being integrated and accepted into the biology of the mouth by both promoting soft tissue gum growth and fusing seamlessly with living bone while not disturbing or compromising the surrounding teeth. Thus, ceramic implants provide a solution to all potentially negative outcomes of a missing tooth.
For the attending dentist, ceramic implants are the answer to their concerns for the health of their patients and for the patient there, is nothing that compares to the aesthetics of an all ceramic implant. Additionally because of the ceramic implants unique properties, they will never leach into your tissues or body, they will not breakdown or corrode, they do not conduct hot or cold and are, in fact, so precisely fitted that they might fit better and look better than the original teeth, certainly more so than any other restoration option.
For the best experience and a guarantee in your implant, to ensure a lifetime smile, call our office and make an appointment. Our professional staff is expertly trained. You can trust our extensive experience in implants and restorations to leave you with a beautiful smile.