If you’ve lost teeth, there are quite a few wonderful tooth replacement options that you can use. Dentures and bridges can be life-changing for people who need them, but dental implants are often considered the best way to help people who are missing teeth.
If you’re interested in learning more about tooth replacement options, here are some facts about dental implants that you might not know.
1. They’re Incredibly Durable
For one, dental implants can last for an incredibly long time, even compared to other tooth replacement options. Dentures and bridges can last for around 10 years, which sounds impressive on its own, but dental implants blow them out of the water.
95% of dental implants are successful at 20 years, with some lasting as long as 30 with proper maintenance. If you’re looking for a way to replace a missing tooth for a lifetime, dental implants can potentially do that for you.
2. They Can Give You a Strong Bite
Even missing a single tooth can potentially have serious effects on your ability to bite and chew. Dentures can restore a little bit of that ability, but not all of it—around 30% of your original bite force. They’re limited in how much force they can apply because they’re only supported by your gums.
Dental implants, on the other hand, are secured directly to your jaw. As such, they have a remarkable ability to chew naturally, restoring around 70% of your original chewing ability. Chewing begins the digestive process, which means that you’d be better able to absorb nutrients from the food you eat.
3. It’s Important to Watch your Diet
Dental implants can do a lot of chewing, but when you’re still healing in the first six months to a year of surgery, it’s important to avoid foods that can disrupt that process.
Crunchy or hard foods that can put excess pressure on your dental implants can be a problem. Similarly, you should also stay away from crunching ice or biting your nails.
Dental implants are incredibly popular among tooth loss patients. Hopefully, now you can see why that’s the case.
About the Author
Dr. Reza Khorasani is a dentist who is deeply passionate about his work. His practice is patient-centric in its approach, which means he’s always considering carefully how to meet his patients’ individual needs. Dr. Khorasani graduated from the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, and since then has made it a point to continue his education in a wide variety of dental fields, including oral surgery and implant dentistry.
If you have any questions about dental implants, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (469) 367-0266.