Missing Teeth? 4 Reasons Why You Should Consider Dental Implants

If you’re missing a tooth, you’re in good company — about 178 million Americans are missing at least one tooth. This astounding number is one of the reasons why about five million implants are placed each year in the United States. 

Here at Silverlake Smiles, Dr. Juliet Ebrahimian and our team are pleased to offer dental implants among our many dental services. Outside of demand, there are several other good reasons why dental implants are fast becoming one of the biggest workhorses at our practice and across the country. 

1. Superior stability

Sure, teeth are important when it comes to your smile, but they also perform some critical functions — namely helping you to chew and talk. 

So, when you lose a tooth, you want an option that not only completes your smile, but that allows you to continue to eat and communicate naturally. A dental implant certainly checks those boxes.

When it comes to teeth, there’s much more than meets the eye. What you see when you smile are just the crowns of your teeth, which are anchored by roots that extend down into your jawbone. When you lose a tooth, this means the entire structure, including the roots, is gone.

With an implant, we place a metal post into your jawbone, and the bone grows around the implant, fusing it into place. In effect, we create a new “root” that securely anchors your replacement tooth, allowing you to chew and talk with confidence and ease.

2. Prevention of bone loss

Not only do dental implants offer superior stability, they also prevent bone loss in your face, which is no small achievement. Your body is constantly remodeling the bone in your jaw, as long as the area is active. When your body registers that the area is quiet because the roots of your tooth are no longer there, it stops rebuilding bone.

And this bone loss in your jaw occurs quickly after you lose a tooth — 25% in the first three months and up to 50% after six months. Over time, the bone can continue to degrade, which can threaten the stability of neighboring teeth.

With a dental implant, we can quickly replace the roots of the missing tooth with a metal post and signal to your body that the area is still active and that it should continue to actively rebuild bone.

3. Ease of care

After we place the crown over your dental implant, your dental regimen should continue as normal. The implant fits in seamlessly with your existing teeth, and you can brush, floss, and rinse as you normally do to take care of your implant and your remaining teeth.

4. Longevity

Once your jawbone fuses the implant into place, this replacement tooth should really go the distance and serve you well for years to come. While you might need to replace the crown on occasion, the metal post should be secure in its place and provide an ongoing and secure foundation.

If you’d like to see for yourself how dental implants excel in both form and function, please contact our Los Angeles office, which serves the Silverlake and surrounding areas, including Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Frogtown, and Echo Park.