The loss of a tooth does not have to permanently compromise the quality of your smile. This is due to the wide range of replacement options that dental patients can use to restore their smile following the loss of one or more of their teeth. In particular, the choice to use dental implants is increasingly the preferred option for this procedure, but a patient that is new to this type of dental work may not understand what they should expect.

Replacing A Missing Tooth Can Help To Lessen Impacts On Your Jaw Bone

While it is easy to be primarily concerned with the cosmetic issues that a missing tooth could create, it is important to note that this is a problem that can also cause structural problems in a patient's mouth. For example, a missing tooth can cause the jaw bone where it was located to start to weaken. As this weakening occurs, the patient may find that the neighboring teeth could shift positions or even start to loosen. A tooth implant is attached directly to the jaw bone, which can help to prevent this from occurring.

Dental Implant procedures Are Not As Painful Or Uncomfortable As People Assume

After suffering tooth loss, individuals may be hesitant about implant-based replacement solutions due to concerns about the amount of pain or the discomfort that they can expect to experience. For most individuals, the discomfort of having an implant placed will be similar to what can be expected when having a crown or major filling applied to their teeth. Local anesthetics will eliminate the vast majority of the pain that the patient experiences during the procedure, but there may be some residual soreness that lingers for a day or two following the dental work.

The Dental Implant Can Be Colored To Match Your Natural Tooth Color

Individuals often assume that the dental implant will be a noticeable addition to the patient's mouth due to it being a slightly different color than the rest of the teeth. In reality, your dentist will take great lengths to attempt to match the implant to the natural color of the teeth as closely as possible. This can be particularly important for those that have suffered some deep staining on their other teeth. Some patients may even choose to undergo whitening prior to this procedure in order to make it easier for the dentist to effectively match the shade of the artificial teeth to the patient's smile.