How Dental Implants Can Improve Your Oral Health

If you’re missing a tooth because of an accident, injury, or oral health issues, you probably want to replace that tooth to restore your smile.

You may not realize that replacing your tooth has more than just cosmetic benefits — dental implants can also improve oral health.

A dental implant is a surgery-grade titanium post implanted into your jawbone, which takes the place of the root of your tooth. Your dentist then installs a custom replacement tooth ( like a crown) on top of the implant. The new tooth matches your natural teeth in look and feel, and no one can tell the difference.

The team at Austin Advanced Dentistry sees the oral health benefits of dental implants in their patients every day. Here are a few ways dental implants can help.

Preserve bone density and tooth alignment

When you lose a tooth, the area of your jawbone where the tooth was begins to degenerate without the stimulation of the tooth pushing down on the jawbone when you chew. This degeneration causes weakness and can even lead to having a sunken-in face appearance. Your neighboring teeth on either side of the gap also naturally start to move toward the opening, which can cause issues with your bite and teeth alignment.

Installing a dental implant alleviates both of these issues. The implant fills the empty socket and fuse with your jawbone over time, keeping your bone density and tooth alignment intact.

Reduce the chances of gum disease

If you leave an empty socket when you lose a tooth, you’re also creating more entry points for bacteria to get into your gum tissue and cause infection and bleeding. If the infection is left untreated, more tooth loss can occur. Alternatives to implants, such as dentures or bridges, offer more for hard-to-reach places where bacteria can build up.

Replacing your missing tooth with a dental implant reduces the chance that harmful bacteria can infiltrate your gum tissue and cause periodontitis.

Make oral hygiene easy

The dentures and bridges mentioned above can be helpful in certain situations, but require additions and changes to your daily oral health care routine, which makes keeping up with your oral hygiene more complicated.

If you have a dental implant, on the other hand, you treat it exactly as if you still had your natural tooth. You brush, floss, use mouthwash as you usually do, and follow the same routines you used in the past, increasing the chances that your teeth remain in great shape and fight off disease.

Now that you know how much dental implants can benefit you, the experts at Austin Advanced Dentistry would love to help you with those advantages. Call our office or use our online booking tool to schedule an appointment today!