Implants
Implants are essentially artificial tooth roots. They can be used to replace a single missing tooth, multiple missing teeth, support a denture or restore an entire mouth.
Implants come in many different shapes and sizes. Implants are made of titanium. To be a candidate for a dental implant two criteria must be met. First, your gum tissue should be healthy overall and second, there must be enough bone present to support the implant.
Following the extraction of a tooth, the supporting bone begins to shrink both in height and width. Even if the bone shrinkage has been excessive, an implant may still be an option. Depending on the situation, a specialist or dentist may be able to grow back the lost bone using regenerative grafting procedures so that an implant can be placed.
Implants can be used to support a bridge, a removable denture or a fixed denture. Your dentist will discuss the available options and benefits of each.
