If you’ve lost one or more teeth, then you have quite a bit to consider. Even if you’ve already replaced your missing teeth with a dental bridge or denture, there might still be room for improvement. As innovative and lifelike as most modern dental prostheses are, they lack a crucial component that prevents your replacement teeth from reaching their full potential. Your Park Ridge cosmetic dentists, Drs. Maria and Thanasi Loukas, are highly-experienced at creating smiles that look and function like the real thing. For optimal results, including cosmetic appearance, they often recommend replacing lost teeth, or improving patients’ replacement teeth, with one or more dental implants.
Like Actual Adult Teeth
The top part of a tooth, called the crown, rests above the gum line and is the only part of a healthy tooth that you can see. Conventional dental prosthetics focus on replacing the crowns of lost teeth to restore your smile’s beauty and ability to bite, chew, and function. The lower half of your tooth, called the root, extends below the gum line and into your jawbone. Rather than roots, traditional replacement teeth rely on adjacent healthy teeth, inconspicuous clasps, and special dental adhesives to remain firmly in place. By contrast, dental implants are surgically inserted into the jawbone and act as prosthetic teeth roots, which can support your replacement teeth once your jawbone heals. Providing a stable anchor for your new smile, dental implants can help your dental prosthetic more closely resemble real teeth.
Dental Implants & Your Oral Health
The secret to dental implants’ success is a process known as osseointegration. As your jawbone heals, it fuses to the dental implants’ biocompatible titanium surfaces, grasping the root devices as though they were natural teeth roots. Aside from stabilizing your teeth, dental implants also provide a vital service to your jawbone. When stimulated by biting and chewing, your teeth’s roots help stimulate a healthy bloodflow to your jawbone. Replacing lost teeth with dental implants helps restore this stimulation, which can prevent the jawbone deterioration that often follows tooth loss and can eventually lead to more lost teeth.
About Dr. Maria and Dr. Thanasi Loukas:
Whether you wish to protect your smile from dental disease and damage, or restore your smile after suffering tooth loss, we can help you regain your oral health and confidence through a new and improved smile. Dr. Maria and Dr. Thanasi Loukas are highly-skilled restorative and cosmetic dentists serving the Park Ridge and surrounding Chicago communities. To schedule an appointment, call Loukas General Dentistry today at (847) 696-1919.