Tooth loss can impact different areas of your life, from not being able to eat your favorite foods to noticing a gradual change in your facial features due to jawbone erosion. While one of the biggest benefits of dental implants by far is regaining the full function of your smile, a secondary advantage of choosing dental implants is restoring your youthful glow! Read on to learn more about how dental implants can impact your appearance.
How Can Tooth Loss Impact Your Appearance?
In order to understand how tooth loss impacts your appearance, you must understand your oral anatomy. Each of your tooth’s roots are embedded into your top and bottom jawbone. These provide blood flow to the area, helping the bone cells regenerate and making sure the bone and teeth are receiving key nutrients they need to stay healthy and strong.
When the roots of those teeth are no longer there to do their job, it means the bone isn’t being stimulated in the same way. This leads to a lack of nutrients and blood reaching the area because the body will naturally divert those to other areas that are still alive and functional. Eventually, this causes jawbone loss, which can make your face appear hollow, especially in the chin and cheek areas.
What Do Dental Implants Offer That Dentures & Bridges Don’t?
Dental implants are unique in the fact that they replace the roots of your teeth. They’re made from biocompatible materials like titanium, which have the ability to naturally fuse with the jawbone through a process called osseointegration. This restores blood flow to the bone to prevent further erosion, which can affect your appearance and jawbone density.
Other traditional tooth replacement options, such as dentures and bridges, only restore the visible crown structure of missing teeth, which doesn’t stop bone erosion from occurring. While this may be a great short-term option to improve your smile’s function, they won’t prevent the long-term health effects of tooth loss.
How Do Implants Support Your Long-Term Health & Confidence?
Dental implants are able to prevent bone erosion in addition to fully rebuilding your smile to look and feel as natural as ever. Not only will this impact your confidence, especially in important, small social moments, like taking a photo with a friend or seeing family at your reunion for the first time in a while, but it will also benefit your long-term health.
Tooth loss has been shown to lead to further tooth loss, which can have dire effects on your oral and systemic health. With a lower risk of developing dental problems, such as gum disease and increased chances of decay, you can feel like your best and healthiest self, both internally and externally!
About the Author
Dr. Arrechea has over 20 years of experience in the dental field and worked in a state-of-the-art dental laboratory, where she created custom-crafted prosthetics to restore patients’ smiles. She offers leading-edge dental implant treatment to help her patients improve their oral function and health, allowing them to live more confidently. For questions or to learn whether you’re a good candidate for dental implants, visit Daily Smiles Dental Dallas’ website or call 214-233-9460.