Preventing Tooth Decay To Maintain Healthy Teeth

One Key Benefit Of Dental Implants: They Protect Healthy Teeth

When you are missing some teeth, there are several options you could choose from if you want to replace the teeth. These options include removable partial dentures, dental bridges, or dental implants. When you compare these three options, dentists will usually recommend choosing implants, because they offer so many benefits. One of these benefits is that dental implants do not affect any of the healthy teeth in your mouth, and here are several things to know about this.

Why this matters

Anytime a dentist performs work on an existing tooth, it can weaken the tooth or cause it to become more sensitive than it was. The problem is that when you replace missing teeth with bridges or partial dentures, the dentist will have to use some of your healthy teeth as anchors to support the crowns used to replace your teeth. With dental implants this is not necessary. A dental implant is an independent artificial tooth that does not rely on any other teeth in your mouth.

How other teeth are affected with other options

If you choose to get a bridge put in your mouth to replace one missing tooth, the dentist will not only have to make the artificial tooth to put in the gap, but he or she will also have to prepare the adjacent teeth for crowns. This means the dentist may have to grind some of the adjacent teeth down so a crown will fit over each of them.

With removable partial dentures, your teeth will not be as affected as they would with a dental bridge; however, they would still be affected. A removable partial denture is considered a plate that will fit into your mouth, and the metal connections used on it will rub against healthy teeth in your mouth. This can lead to damage of those teeth over time, especially if the plate doesn't fit perfectly right in your mouth.

Why a dental implant protects healthy teeth

A dental implant is an artificial tooth held in place with the use of your jawbone. The implant fuses in your jawbone, and the dentist then attaches the replacement tooth to it. The teeth next to the implant are not touched or affected in anyway at all.

Dental implants have many benefits over other options, and this is just one of them. To learn about all the other benefits dental implants offer, contact a dental clinic today.  


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