When you lose your natural teeth, this lack of a full smile means poor oral health, issues with your bite function, and major complications with the appearance of your smile and even your facial structure. But our team can offer replacement options that look and function like natural teeth. In today’s blog, your Santa Rosa, CA, oral surgeons talk about our dental implants.
The Risks of Tooth Loss
Why do we end up losing our natural teeth? Tooth loss could happen as a result of a serious injury to the face or jaw. Untreated tooth decay or infection could mean a lost tooth, or one that requires extraction to safeguard the rest of your smile. Periodontitis, the advanced stage of periodontal disease, could also be a factor in the loss of your tooth. When you lose a tooth, this means a gap is left behind in your smile, and you could be more likely to develop misalignment and with it, tooth decay and gum disease. In addition, missing teeth alter your bite balance to increase the risk of TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). You may have issues speaking clearly and advanced tooth loss could mean limited meal options. But the most severe complication is the loss of mass and density in the jawbone, which happens when the body stops sending calcium and phosphorus to the jaw following tooth loss, causing an older appearance.
Planning Treatment
When you lose one or several of your natural teeth, we hope you will schedule an appointment with our team right away. During this consultation, we will talk about the factors behind your tooth loss and then examine your smile with digital x-ray and CBCT imaging, so we can assess the underlying factors and if necessary, recommend treatment to manage them before we move forward with dental implant placement. Our team also wants to assess the strength of your jawbone. We need to make sure your smile can support these new teeth. If not, we can offer treatments like jawbone grafting or a sinus lift to strengthen the areas receiving dental implants. But with options like All-On-Four, we can secure a full smile even in weakened jawbone structure.
Anesthesia and Sedation
We know that the idea of oral surgery can be anxiety-inducing for some, which is why we take time to ensure you are relaxed and comfortable during treatment. Our team can administer a local anesthetic to the areas being treated. We also have sedation, including nitrous oxide, oral sedation, and IV sedation, to help you enter a deep state of calm and relaxation, with little to no memory of the procedure at all. You may need to have someone ready to pick you up when the procedure ends and drive you home, and to pick up any prescriptions for medication as part of the healing period.
Individual Dental Implants
For an individual dental implant, our team will insert a biocompatible titanium post into the jaw at a specific angle, position, and depth. This will act as a new root, stimulating the growth of jawbone structure to prevent a breakdown linked to further missing teeth and an older appearance. When the placement area heals, our team will connect an abutment to the post, which extends above the gum line. The abutment enables us to attach a crown, completing the visible portion of your new tooth. The crown will be custom-made to ensure a balanced bite and a lifelike appearance.
Fixed Dentures
In addition to an individual replacement tooth, we can also secure a set of dentures, addressing advanced tooth loss and offering a full smile again. With options like All-On-Four, this can even be done in a single visit, so you leave with a full smile! Essentially, we will insert several posts per arch, sometimes as little as four, and then connect abutments to them that enables us to attach a set of dentures. You now have a prosthetic that will never slip when you eat or speak, and can last for years to come, far longer than removable dentures.
If you have any questions about how we replace missing teeth with dental implants, then contact our team today to learn more.
Learn More About Our Replacement Teeth in Santa Rosa, CA
We want to help you enjoy good oral health, better bite function, and a lifelike appearance. To learn more about how our team can tackle your tooth loss, then give us a call at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery at (707)545-4625 today!
