Patients who deal with premature tooth loss report a number of inconveniences and health issues that pop up as a result. Some patients start to hide their smiles because they hate how apparent the dental damage is when they smile. Other people find that it becomes difficult to eat their favorite foods. No matter what the patient’s individual experience is like, the conclusion is the same: tooth loss is a problem on a number of levels.
That is why our Novato restorative dentists offer tooth replacement options to fit our patients’ lives and needs. One of these treatments is the restorative dental implant. Keep reading to get more information about how dental implants work!
A dental implant is a replacement tooth that is actually permanently embedded in the patient’s smile. The first step in the treatment process is for our doctors to implant a titanium root into your jawbone tissue. This root is there to replace your natural tooth root. Once the titanium screw is in place, it starts to bond to the natural bone tissue around it. The dental implant root actually becomes a vital part of your smile.
Once the titanium root is in place, our team will attach a small piece called an abutment to the top of the titanium screw. This small piece is designed to serve as a buffer between the root and the custom restoration that will be placed on top.
The final component of the dental implant is the customized restoration. The restorations that our dentists place are shaped, sized, and shaded to look just like the patient’s natural teeth; there are no one-size-fits-all options here.
All three of the pieces of the dental implant work together to provide a replacement tooth that looks beautiful, stays in place permanently, and supports the patient’s oral health as a whole. So, if you are missing teeth, please feel free to reach out to our Novato dental implant dentists to get more information about your treatment options—we’re here to help!