Nothing can take the place of a healthy set of natural teeth. But when disease or an accident ends in tooth loss, it’s good to know that there are options for restoring your smile. You may want to choose dental implants if you:
- are self-conscious because you have missing teeth.
- wear dentures that are uncomfortable for you
- are unsatisfied with your removable partial dentures
- do not want to have intact tooth structure removed to have a fixed bridge placed.
Many patients choose implants to replace a single tooth, several teeth, or to support a full set of dentures. Implants are posts that are surgically placed in the upper or lower jaw, where they function as a sturdy anchor for replacement teeth. They are made of titanium (a strong, lightweight metal) and other materials that are accepted by the human body.
Implants are a popular and effective way to replace missing teeth. The development and use of implants has been one of the biggest advances in dentistry in the past 40 years. U.S. dentists place more than 5.5 million implants annually.