The Advantage of Dental Implants Over Other Methods
The use of dentures and bridges are among the conventional methods of replacing lost teeth. However, they don't look and feel the same as with natural teeth, but they definitely do the job and are effective in their purposes. But they don't let you chew hard, meaty foods. But now, there is a technology that can do that and fill in the gap and this technology has been around since 1980s. They work and function like natural teeth, unlike with dentures and bridges. They are so good that you will not be able to feel the difference.
Dental implants are surgically implanted on the jaw and are made of titanium screws. Known for its durable and strong properties, Titanium are ductile and light as well. Here we can find 2 types of implants: the endosteal and subperiosteal. Both methods involved attaching a metal frame along the jaw bone and fixed with screws, Endosteal is quite a new technology and has been gaining grounds with dentist in South Africa. For those with low jawbone, this is quite effective. Endosteal is popular among dentists because it uses screws that can be implanted directly on the jawbone.
Once the titanium screws, also called posts, are attached to the jawbone, they are left for several days to give time for the gums to heal. Once the gums have healed, one or more prosthetic crowns as required are fixed on top of the screws. Since one screw can hold more than one screw, it is not necessary to attach as many as there are lost teeth. If a whole set of lot of teeth have to be replaced, dentures are fixed permanently on the screws.
Its hard to tell the difference between natural teeth and dental implants as they looked uncannily like natural teeth. Since it is firmly screwed on the jawbone, this makes it like natural teeth that grow on jawbone. You can bite and chew tough meats and foods with it. Another good advantage of dental implant is they don't affect the other neighboring teeth. Since it uses them as support, a dental bridge must make amends and can cause damage to adjacent teeth.
So, now why doesn’t everyone choose to receive them? The answer is because they are very expensive. You can be set back for as much as $100,000 for the implants. They are not covered by major insurance companies as well. But the thing is, you can have your dentist arrange for a loan. So with all that said, it is definitely better to have dental implants than dentures and bridges, that is, if you can afford them.