A missing tooth can really impact your smile and oral health. It may make you feel embarrassed and self-conscious when you talk with others, leading you to feel awkward in social situations. Even more serious is the effect on your oral health. Missing teeth can cause a number of dental issues that, when left untreated, may necessitate more dental work.
At Adler Advanced Dentistry, Dr. Michael Adler offers dental implants to help those with missing teeth have their smile back and also to maintain a healthy and functioning mouth. Many people may not realize how serious a missing tooth can be. Beyond the unpleasant appearance, a missing tooth can cause oral health problems, including:
- Shifting of surrounding teeth
- Alignment problems in your jaw
- Joint and muscle strain in the jaw
- Problems with chewing and biting
- Weakening of the jaw bone
Having all of your teeth is critical to a healthy, functioning mouth. While dentures are a common solution to address a missing tooth, they’re known to slip and shift over time and can still make eating certain foods difficult. However, as oral medicine continues to advance, dental implants have become the preferred solution to replace a missing tooth.
Made of titanium, dental implants are surgically implanted into your jawbone and support a replacement tooth. Because the implant is placed into your jaw, it fuses with the bone, effectively becoming a part of your jaw thus creating a permanent fix to your missing tooth.
Dental implants require a significant amount of time with multiple steps before the process is complete. However, once the process is finished you will have a natural-looking, long-lasting solution to your missing tooth. At Adler Advanced Dentistry, the process of completing a dental implant is as follows:
- The implant process begins by using the NewTom VGI machine to take 3D pictures of your mouth. This allows us to see the density of your jawbone to find the best spot to place your implant. An implant needs sufficient bone density to be successful.
- Once the optimal spot is determined, the implant is surgically placed into your jaw and under the gums. The implant is left for four to six months to allow the bone to fuse around it, a process called osseointegration.
- After enough time has passed and the implant has properly fused with your jaw, an abutment is placed on the implant. This abutment is an implant post which will hold your replacement tooth.
- Once the gums heal properly around the abutment (roughly one month), we’ll create a custom tooth restoration to finalize the implant process. Depending on your situation, this replacement tooth can be a crown, bridge, or denture and since it’s connected to the implant, your restoration will be an effective long-term solution for your missing tooth.
While this may seem like a long process to replace a missing tooth, it’s necessary to make sure that the implant is effectively fused with the bone and your gums have healed around it. Once complete, you’ll be able to eat your favorites foods without worry and enjoy a healthy, beautiful smile for years to come.
If you’re interested in learning more about dental implants and if you’re a candidate for this procedure, please fill out the form on this page or give us a call at to schedule a consultation. We proudly provide services to those who live in Boulder, as well as the surrounding communities on the Front Range in Colorado.