When you suffer from advanced periodontal disease, you could lose your natural teeth. Once we manage the disease and get it under control, we can move forward with addressing the gap in your smile. In today’s blog, your Shrewsbury, MA, dentist talks about how we address tooth loss with dental implants.
Periodontal Disease and Tooth Loss
Did you know that there is a major link between the advanced stage of gum disease, known as periodontitis, and tooth loss? At the advanced stage of periodontal disease, the tissue connecting your teeth and gums are severed, which causes teeth to become loose and fall out. This is actually the most common cause of tooth loss, but other factors could include injury or advanced decay or infection. When you lose your tooth, this could increase the risk of misalignment, issues eating and speaking, and the lack of a tooth root, could mean a gradual breakdown in the surrounding jaw structure, one linked to further tooth loss and an aged appearance.
Planning Your New Tooth Placement
First, we will discuss a treatment plan to bring your gum disease into a manageable state, preventing the risk of further tooth loss and implant failure. We then carefully examine your smile and jaw structure to ensure you’re ready for dental implants without the need for grafting or sinus lifts beforehand. We then plan and guide the implant post into the jaw. Made from biocompatible titanium, this bonds with the jaw like natural root structure. Once the placement area heals, we will move forward with the visible eruption of your new tooth.
Dental Implants
After we insert the post and the placement area heals, we will attach an abutment to the post that extends above the gum line. These provide structure for our team to attach custom dental restorations. For an individual one, our team will use custom crowns. But we can use multiple posts and abutments to support a bridge or even a full set of dentures, so you obtain a complete smile again. Your new teeth not only look natural, but they can last for decades to come with proper care and attention, possibly a lifetime! You also have an easier time caring for your new teeth, as you simply brush and ss them like you would natural teeth.
If you have any questions about how our team treats missing teeth with dental implants, or about the link between gum disease and missing teeth, then contact our team today to learn more.
Do You Need Implant Dentistry?
Don’t live with an incomplete smile, talk to our team about our durable and lifelike dental prosthetics. To find out more about implant dentistry, please call our Shrewsbury/Grafton, MA area dental office at 508-842-8838.
