Tooth loss can lead to weakened jaws and poorer quality of life, which is why we offer replacement for people who have lost teeth to gum disease. With dental implants, we can secure an option that could potentially last for decades and offer a lifelike appearance. In today’s blog, your Encinitas/San Diego, CA, periodontist talks about the benefits of dental implant placement.
The Link Between Gum Disease and Missing Teeth
How does gum disease lead to tooth loss? When people develop periodontal disease and don’t seek treatment to manage the issue, it can eventually grow more severe and reach a stage known as periodontitis. At this point, the connective tissues between the teeth and gums can erode, which leads to loose and missing teeth. In fact, this is the number one cause of adult tooth loss! Without replacement, the body stops sending key nutrients to the jawbone around the missing root. Without them, the area erodes and patients can suffer from further tooth loss and an older appearance. But with dental implants, we can keep your smile intact!
Planning and Guiding Implant Placement
First, we will examine your smile to assess the extent of your tooth loss, the stability of your jaw, and the presence of periodontal disease. We may need to treat the underlying disease to manage it so it doesn’t cause implant failure. If your jawbone has weakened to the point that it cannot support dental implants, we could offer laser-assisted jawbone grafting to strengthen it. Our team then wants to choose the best angles, positions, and depths to insert the implant post so they can stimulate jawbone growth and support one or more new teeth.
Completing Your New Teeth
With digital technology, our team can guide the placement of the posts. When they are secured in your smile, we can move forward with addressing the visible portion of your new tooth. For an individual dental implant, we can add an abutment that extends above the gum line. We then attach a custom crown to it, which provides a durable chewing surface and a lifelike appearance. But we can also use several posts to support a set of dentures too. These can last for decades to come, and provide new teeth that look and function like natural ones.
If you have any questions about how we plan and complete the placement of dental implants, then contact our team today to learn more.
Schedule Your Visit For Implant Placement
Our team wants to help treat tooth loss with the placement of one or more replacement teeth. To learn more about implant dentistry or to schedule a consultation with our team, then call Dr. Ann Kania in Encinitas, CA, today at 760-642-0711.