Dental implants: a guide to permanent tooth replacement

Dental implants: a guide to permanent tooth replacement

23 June 2016

By using dental implants, a dentist can permanently replace one or more of your natural teeth. At Staplehurst Dental Practice in Kent we welcome new patients of all ages for implant consultations, no matter why you have lost your teeth, nor how many teeth you have lost.

Why to replace missing teeth (and why dental implants are often the best option)

Teeth should always be replaced, ideally as soon as possible after they are lost. Whether your tooth loss has occurred through decay, gum disease, or through accident or injury, it is always prudent to replace those teeth as quickly as possible.

Obviously, aesthetic concerns arise with tooth loss, particularly if it affects your front teeth. But at our Kent dental practice we are also keen to point out that losing your teeth can lead to numerous other problems.

Remaining teeth are likely to become crooked as they shift into the gaps left behind, and there’s an increased danger you could lose those teeth, too. Additional strain from the forces generated by biting and chewing is also put on the teeth that remain in your mouth.

When you have lost several or all of your teeth, you are likely to experience a loss of bone density. As well as causing problems with dentures, which will start to become loose, unwieldy and uncomfortable, and could even start to drop out unannounced, this can make placing dental implants in the future more complex and time consuming (you may require a bone graft first). These problems can limit your diet, can alter your speech, and can be a significant blow to your confidence.

Dental implants help to prevent these problems, because they replace the tooth roots and support bone growth, thus helping to preserve bone density.

There are several options for treatment with dental implants at our Kent dental practice, including in some cases the ability to place your implants and a full jaw of teeth at the same time.

Each implant case is different, and your options will be discussed when you come to our Kent practice for your consultation.