Tooth loss can impact how you eat, lead to issues with clear speech, and even cause an older appearance. But our team can address minor and even advanced tooth loss with our custom and lifelike dental implants. In today’s blog, your Brooklyn, NY, periodontist and implant expert talks about the benefits of our custom dental implants!
The Causes of Your Missing Teeth
First, let’s talk about tooth loss itself. How do we lose our natural teeth in our teen and adult years? For some, this could be due to a cavity or infection that reaches a state where a filling or crown cannot treat it. The tooth could require extraction to prevent infection from spreading, or could fall out. Injury could be a factor too. The most common cause is periodontal disease, which can reach a stage known as periodontitis unless treated. This leads to adult tooth loss. Fortunately, our team can take on both periodontal disease and tooth loss!
The Impact on Your Smile
What does losing teeth do to your smile and overall oral health? When you lose teeth, the body notices and no longer sends doses of calcium and phosphorus to the jawbone around the missing root. The bone structure begins to break down, which can cause further tooth loss and an older appearance. The gaps in your smile could also increase the risk of dental misalignment, and you could be susceptible to TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). For more severe cases of tooth loss, complications with clear speech and even your ability to eat your favorite meals could occur. But we can help with the placement of one or more dental implants!
Planning Treatment
Our team will begin by taking a close look at your smile with advanced imaging technology, such as digital x-rays and CT scanning systems. These provide high-definition images of the teeth and the underlying roots and jawbone structure. We can then assess the cause and severity of your tooth loss, so we know if you need treatment to manage concerns like gum disease. We can also see if your jaw can currently handle new teeth. If not, we could rebuild the smile with jawbone grafting or a sinus lift, so your smile can support dental implants. The planning process also helps us choose the best angles and positions to insert these new roots.
Anesthesia and Sedation
The placement process requires oral surgery, as we insert these biocompatible titanium implant posts into the jaw directly. To ensure you are comfortable, we can numb the placement area with a local anesthesia, and we can also select a sedation option to help you enter a deep state of calm and relaxation, with little to no memory of the procedure at all.
Single Tooth Replacement
Our team can handle individual missing teeth by surgically inserting a post into the jaw, where it bonds with the bone structure through a process known as osseointegration. When the area heals, we will attach an abutment to the post so we can connect the crown, which completes your new tooth. The crown is custom-made to look natural and offer a dependable chewing surface too.
Dentures in a Day
Our team could also secure a full set of dental implant dentures in only one visit. We insert as little as four posts per arch, and in the same visit attach a denture. For some, this could be the final prosthetic, while others may receive an initial temporary and switch for the final denture later on. Regardless, you leave with a full smile!
Helping Your Smile Heal
Our team wants to help the placement area heals quickly so you can return to your normal routine much sooner. With special treatments like Platelet Rich Plasma, we can help the underlying bone and gum tissues heal much faster with a special autoplasm. If you have any questions about how we plan and place dental implants, or about how we manage gum disease to promote a faster healing period, then please reach out to our team today. We want to help you smile with confidence and enjoy a full smile!
Treating Your Missing Teeth with Your Brooklyn, NY, Periodontist
Our team wants to help you enjoy good oral health and a full smile again, which is why we offer durable and long-lasting dental implants. To schedule an appointment and start your tooth replacement, contact your Brooklyn, NY, periodontist by calling (718) 444-3800. A new smile that looks and functions like a natural one is possible, so talk to our team today to learn more!
