Dental implants are designed to closely duplicate the form and function of your natural teeth. Dental implants look, feel, and function properly without affecting your bite, speech, or eating choices. In other words, a dental implant is a replacement for the real thing! For additional benefits, dental implants help preserve facial structure and prevent bone deterioration that occurs around a missing tooth. Implants can also add stability to dentures and bridges.
What is a dental implant?
A natural tooth consists of two parts: a crown and a root. You see the crown when you smile and use it when you chew. The root anchors the crown to the jaw bone.
A dental implant is a man-made replacement for a natural tooth that is designed to work like the real thing. A dental implant has three parts: the implant, the abutment, and the crown. Like the crown of a natural tooth, the crown of a dental implant serves a cosmetic purpose, is used for chewing, and helps maintain proper spacing among teeth. Like the root of a natural tooth, the implant anchors the crown to the jaw bone. Finally, the abutment is merely an intermediate piece for connecting the crown to the implant.
Implant Dentures
For decades, dentures have been the “go to” option for patients that lose their natural teeth. Dentures allow patients that lose their natural teeth to smile and eat again, but with limitations. Implant supported or assisted dentures ("implant dentures", sometimes called "all-on-4" implant dentures) have many benefits, and have been shown in studies to greatly improve quality of life. Unlike regular dentures, implant dentures are anchored to, or assisted by, implants, which allows significantly improved comfort, cosmetic appeal, and chewing ability. In fact, an implant denture often allows patients to chew as naturally as they could with natural teeth.