How Dental Implants Can Improve Your Smile

Dental implants from Bonner Dental Network can improve a gapped, dysfunctional smile. In fact, they do it better than conventional bridges and dentures. Your dentist, Dr. Leslie Bonner, places these wonderful tooth replacements right in his Washington office, giving patients the great smiles they deserve.

Misaligned smiles

Not only do they look bad, they make people feel bad and affect their oral function. When someone is missing even one tooth, their jaw bone and gum tissue rapidly degrades, remaining teeth shift, and speech, biting, chewing and even digestion suffer. The impact increases over time, aging facial appearance.

Enter: your dental implant

A dental implant is an artificial tooth. It has a titanium screw which resides in the jaw, a metal extension post and a dental crown customized from lifelike ceramic. Once healed, the dental implant is so solid it feels and functions as well as a healthy natural tooth.

To determine if you can receive a dental implant, your Washington dentist will examine and X-ray your mouth. You need sufficient bone density for the implant to bond properly with your jaw and to have the durability for normal oral functions.

Amazingly, these titanium implants adhere to the alveolar ridge of the jaw through osseointegration. Human bone absolutely loves titanium, and over time, you and your implant will become one.

In addition, people who have lost all their teeth may benefit from implants. Dr. Bonner can place two, four or even xix of them to support realistic dentures.

Living with your new tooth

Expect your smile to be fully restored. Plus, you'll brush and floss as you always have, and see Dr. Bonner for semi-annual examinations and professional cleanings.

Just like your natural teeth, treat your dental implant gently:

1. Avoid hard foods, such as nuts or candy apples, as they can damage your crown.
2. Wear a bite guard if you clench or grind your teeth (this is called bruxism, a stress-related dental problem). While normal biting and chewing helps osseointegration, intense grinding actually weakens implant sites.
3. Stop all tobacco usage because it causes an infection known as peri-implantitis. This destructive condition resembles advanced periodontal disease and undermines implant retention.

Find out more

Dental implants are a great tooth replacement options. Don't you owe yourself a long-lasting, beautiful smile? Call Bonner Dental Network for a one-on-one consultation with Dr. Leslie Bonner and his team: (202) 249-9131.