Do you currently wear dentures, but are tired of dealing with messy denture adhesives and slippage? Are you experiencing discomfort or pain due to a broken or severely cracked tooth?
Perhaps you are considering dental implants as a way to solve these problems for you?
No matter which situation you’re in, Dr. Brent Engelberg at AH Smiles in Arlington Heights, IL, would like you to be educated about dental implants to discover whether they can be a solution for your dental problems.
So join us as we uncover 6 important warning signs that you may need dental implants.
1. You have a severely cracked tooth or a broken tooth.
If you have a cracked or broken tooth, a dental crown or a dental implant may be your only options to restore this tooth. While dentists usually want to save as much of the tooth structure as possible, if the tooth is damaged beyond repair, the best choice available might be a tooth extraction and an implant to replace the problematic tooth. If an implant is needed, rest assured, it will look and function just like your natural teeth.
2. You are missing one or more of your natural teeth.
Having gaps in your smile where you are missing teeth can make you hesitant about smiling, talking or eating in public. A dental implant will fill in the space where your natural tooth once lived and will look and feel just like your natural tooth.
3. You have loose-fitting partials or a loose-fitting denture.
Loose-fitting dentures or partials can be frustrating to deal with on a daily basis with their adhesive creams and slippage. Implants are an excellent alternative to dentures and partials. Because they are permanently attached, you will no longer have to worry about your dentures becoming loose throughout the day or feeling self-conscious that your dentures will fall out in public while talking or eating.
4. You are starting to experience bone loss (in the jaw area).
Do you know that dental implants can actually prevent bone loss in your jaw? It’s true. You see, the portion of the implant that gets placed in the socket of the jawbone and acts as the artificial tooth root is made of titanium or zirconium. These materials naturally bond to the existing bone tissue. The bonding process is called osseointegration, which enables the implant roots to stimulate jaw bone growth just like the natural tooth roots would, decreasing the chances of the bone deteriorating over time.
5. You have a sunken-in look to your facial appearance.
Did you ever notice the sunken-in or caved-in look that some denture-wearers have on a daily basis? Unfortunately, this is a common problem for patients with patients who wear dentures due to bone loss as you grow older. Since dentures do not stimulate bone growth as implants do, the bone continues over time, resulting in the sunken-in, caved-in appearance. Preventing the deterioration of jaw bone tissue prevents mouth regression — the shrunken appearance that the mouths of many denture-wearers have. Dental implants can help you avoid this problem by stimulating bone growth in the jaw around the implant.
6. You have a tooth that cannot be saved.
Although dentists always attempt to save as much of the original, natural tooth as possible, sometimes a tooth is just too far gone. If the tooth is beyond repair, it may need to be removed. If this happens, a dental implant — a fully functioning prosthetic that looks just like a natural tooth — can replace it and because implants have a 95% satisfaction rate, you may just forget you even have one!
Dental Implants in Arlington Heights, IL
Live in or near the Chicago Metropolitan area? Call AH Smiles at (847) 230-9703 for an implants consultation with Dr. Engelberg or schedule with us online. We look forward to helping you restore your smile!