How Implant Dentistry Treats Tooth Loss

encinitas dental implantsWhen you suffer from periodontal disease and lose natural teeth, we want to not only improve the health of your gums, but treat your missing teeth too. With dental implants, we can offer a replacement option that looks natural and has the potential to last decades. In today’s blog, your Encinitas/San Diego, CA, periodontist talks about dental implants.

Periodontal Disease and Tooth Loss

Without treatment to address and manage periodontal disease, the disease could grow in severity with time and reach a stage known as periodontitis. At this stage, the disease could sever the tissues connecting your teeth and gums to cause loose and missing teeth. Once you lose teeth, this could increase the risk of complications such as misalignment, TMJ disorder, bruxism (teeth grinding), and even difficulties eating or speaking clearly. Your jawbone could degrade as well, as the body stops sending calcium and phosphorus to the area around the missing root. Over time, this means additional messing teeth and an older appearance!

Preparing Smiles for Dental Implants

With dental implants, we not only fill the gap in your smile, but we can also stimulate the growth of jawbone structure to keep your facial structure and youthful appearance intact. The dental implant post acts as new roots, and can last decades. Since we insert these surgically into your jawbone, we will start care by carefully examining your smile with digital imaging technology, making sure there is enough jawbone to support the new tooth. If not, we can discuss grafting or sinus lift procedures. Our team will choose the right, angle, depth, and position to insert these posts to ensure the longevity of your new dental implants.

Securing Your New Smile

We will numb the placement area and offer sedation to help you enter a calm and relaxed state, with little to no memory of the procedure afterward. Our team then gently guides the post into the jaw, where they will bond with the bone structure and act as new roots. When the placement area heals, we will connect abutments to the posts that allow us to attach crowns or a portion of a prosthetic, so we can address minor or even severe cases of tooth loss, and offer a full smile again. Of course, our team will also offer care to manage the disease and protect your new teeth from failure.

If you have any questions about implant dentistry and gum disease, then contact our team today to learn more.

Talk to Dr. Kania About Implant Dentistry

Do you have questions about how we take on your tooth loss and protect your gum health? To learn more about addressing your missing teeth, or to schedule your appointment, give us a call at our office in Encinitas, CA today at 760-642-0711.