Lost a Tooth? Dental Implants to the Rescue!

About

Have you ever had a nightmare about losing your teeth? If you have, you’re not alone; this is a type of anxiety dream that is extremely common, just like dreams about falling. No one knows exactly why we have these nightmares; a 2018 study suggested that it may happen because of dental irritation and the way our brain interprets that sensation while we’re dreaming. In any case, it’s clear that we find these dreams disturbing, because the idea of losing our teeth is a scary one. Why is that? Well, first of all, depending where the missing tooth is, it can be unsightly. The gap could cause neighboring teeth to move, and this could change your bite and cause food trapping, which is uncomfortable and can negatively affect the health of your other teeth. Losing several teeth may affect support of the lips and cheeks, which makes people look older than they are. A changing bite might lead to jaw problems and discomfort as well. Most of all, until modern times, loss of a tooth was permanent: you could never grow one back, and any problems mentioned above would persist for the rest of your life. Thankfully, in our day, we no longer have to live in fear of these nightmares coming true. Even if we do lose a tooth, we have a way to replace it: the dental implant. A dental implant is essentially a screw placed into the jawbone to replace the root of a tooth. Once this screw is in place, the dentist can replace the top part of the tooth with a crown—or, if necessary, a bridge or dentures, using several implants. Implants are made of titanium. Titanium has two advantages: it is corrosion-resistant, and it has a very high strength-to-density ratio. This is also the reason titanium is used for hip and knee replacements. Dental implants are a well-established treatment method that have been used for over 30 years. Their longevity depends to a large extent on how well they are maintained, both by the patient and by the patient’s dentist. In ideal conditions, implants can last for dec