Are you dealing with tooth loss in West Hartford, CT? Find out how dental implants can help.

We are forever grateful for modern dental technology, which allows our dentists here in West Hartford, CT, to be able to replace missing teeth with an artificial tooth that doesn’t just look and act like a real tooth but can also last the rest of your life with the proper care. This popular tooth replacement is known as a dental implant and it offers some pretty amazing benefits. Here’s how dental implants work to replace one or more teeth.

How a Dental Implant Works

It’s important to know the inner workings of an implant to understand how they mimic the look and function of a real tooth. While the only visible part of a tooth is the crown, it’s the roots of the teeth that are integral in keeping the teeth and jawbone healthy. You may not realize it but the roots actually stimulate the jawbone to continue producing new bone cells and to keep the bone healthy and strong.

If you lose one or more teeth, the jawbone no longer gets ample stimulation from the tooth roots and, as a result, begins to shrink and deteriorate. You can probably imagine the impact this has not only to your oral health but also your appearance. Luckily, an implant is the only tooth replacement that is designed to replace your missing roots.

In order to do this, our West Hartford, CT, implant dentists will need to surgically place this very small, tapered metal post inside the jawbone. This requires minor surgery to place the implant. Once the implant is placed something pretty amazing happens: the jawbone begins to heal around and fuse with the titanium implant to become one solid unit (this can take up to six months for the two to fully integrate).

From there, we will need to place the second part of the implant known as an abutment. The abutment will be attached to the top of the implant and it’s designed to link the implant (that sits under the gums) with the false tooth (the part of the implant that we will actually see when you smile).

The last piece of the implant puzzle is to cement the permanent dental crown over top of the abutment to complete the restoration. Of course, if you need to replace several or even all of your teeth then multiple implants can be placed throughout the jawbone to support partial or complete dentures.

Are you interested in what dental implants can offer your smile after tooth loss? If so, then call the experts at Comprehensive Dental Care in West Hartford, CT for an initial consultation and find out if you are right for implants.