Have you ever wondered what makes dental implants so popular? Well, imagine having a prosthetic tooth
in your mouth that is held stable thanks to the support of the surrounding teeth. Biting down on this tooth would feel strange, and each time you chewed, you would be reminded of the fact that the tooth was not real. Now imagine a prosthetic tooth with a root in the jawbone just like a natural tooth. Pretty soon you might forget that the tooth was a prosthetic at all. As the dental implant acts like a tooth’s root, creating the second scenario, you can see why dental implants garner a lot of interest from victims of tooth loss. However, choosing a dental implant to replace a missing tooth has still more benefits. As your Livonia dentist, Dr. James Stewart, notes, dental implants do more than stabilize prosthetic teeth. They also transmit bite force to the jawbone. By picking up this task where the root of the lost tooth left off, the dental implant can help stimulate the bone cells in the jaw, encouraging a healthier bone density. As other tooth-replacement options cannot perform this task, patients who choose dental implants for their replacement teeth often enjoy better jawbone health than patients who rely on prosthetic teeth that are not supported by dental implants.
Receiving a Dental Implant
Receiving a dental implant is a three-part process. The first stage of the implant process is to determine a patient’s candidacy for dental implants. In order for a dental implant to be successful, the jawbone must be healthy enough to support a dental implant. Your Livonia dentist, Dr. Stewart, will therefore take scans of your mouth so that he can examine the condition of your jawbone. If enough healthy bone is present, you can undergo the procedure to have the implant placed. Following this procedure, a healing period of three to six months is required to allow the bone to fuse to the implant in a process called osseointegration. Once this process is complete, Dr. Stewart will uncover the dental implant and attach your custom prosthetic to complete the implant process.
About James Stewart, DDS: James Stewart, DDS is an experienced and respected dentist serving patients from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, and Garden City. Patients can contact Dr. Stewart by calling (734) 425-4400 to schedule an appointment or a consultation.