Dental implants can transform your appearance and oral health for the better. The right dental implants can help you speak and smile with confidence, chew and bite foods easily, and prevent bone loss due to tooth loss. They also feel secure and comfortable compared to other replacements like dental bridges or dentures. While most people understand the functional benefits of a dental implant, this tooth replacement solution also offers aesthetic advantages that boost your confidence and self-esteem. This guide to the aesthetic benefits of dental implants covers important questions like “What are dental implants?” and “How can dental implants improve my appearance?” Read on to learn more.
What Are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is a titanium screw placed into the jaw to function as a tooth root. The implant is topped with a dental crown, an artificial tooth made of materials like porcelain or zirconia. An abutment connects these two elements and holds the crown securely in place.
Once the implant is fully healed, the titanium implant and abutment are not visible. The dental crowns are carefully customized to blend in with your natural teeth. Materials like zirconia combine strength and resistance to wear with a natural translucency and shine that mimics real teeth. The implant expert will usually use tooth impressions and photographs to closely match your natural teeth. However, patients also have a say in choosing their crown shade and mold. Implant dentures and full mouth implants replace a full arch of teeth, so the right implants and crowns can give you a bright new smile. A single-tooth dental implant replaces just one missing tooth, but even this small change can be impactful.
How Do Dental Implants Improve Aesthetic Appearance?
Dental implants can improve the look of your teeth as well as your overall face. Here are some of the benefits you can expect:
Fill Tooth Gaps
Missing front teeth are immediately noticeable and can be a source of anxiety and embarrassment. The right dental implants fill the gaps left behind by missing teeth to give you a seamless, bright smile. Single-tooth implants and bridges fit in perfectly with your natural teeth, so your smile looks uniform and realistic.
Help Keep Teeth Straight and Properly Aligned
When a tooth is lost, adjacent teeth can shift into the empty space, causing misalignment and tooth gaps. This movement of teeth can disrupt your smile and lead to a crooked appearance. Dental implants fill the gap left by a missing tooth, keeping your remaining teeth in their proper positions and preserving the alignment of your smile.
Replace Damaged Teeth
You don’t always need to lose a tooth to get a dental implant. If your teeth have severe cavities, are cracked, chipped, or worn down (to the point of causing oral health troubles), replacing them with dental implants can rejuvenate your smile. A dental implant can be suitable when your natural tooth is damaged enough to require extraction. Your dentist may recommend other solutions for discolored teeth.
Maintain Facial Structure
When you lose a tooth, your jawbone begins to deteriorate due to lack of stimulation from the tooth root. Over time, bone loss in the jaw may give your face a sunken, aged look. Dental implants stimulate the jawbone, preventing bone loss and maintaining the natural structure of your face. Prevention of jawbone loss is one of the key benefits that implants offer. Dentures and traditional dental bridges cannot offer the same results.
Add Fullness to Your Lips and Cheeks
Missing teeth can be conspicuous even when you’re not smiling or speaking. An individual with no teeth may have visibly sunken-in cheeks and lips. Getting implant dentures or full mouth implants can restore fullness to your face and let you look your best. Dental implants in Aventura can improve your profile and make you look healthier and more expressive.
Improve Facial Symmetry
Missing a few teeth on one side of your face may result in bone loss on one side combined with a sunken cheek. This takes away from the symmetry of your face and can affect your appearance significantly. Filling tooth gaps with implants can enhance your facial symmetry for a more pleasing facial structure.
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