General Dentistry Professionals in Colorado Springs Talk about Dental Implants, PART 1

This two-part article series provides an overview of dental implants as a sophisticated solution to single and multiple missing teeth.

Tooth loss is a fairly common problem that can happen as one ages. It’s most frequently the result of conditions such as tooth decay and gum disease - conditions that are caused by neglect for proper oral hygiene, a lack of professional preventative healthcare, a bad diet and habits such as tobacco use. Tooth loss can also be caused by accidental trauma and by certain illnesses. Either way, there are a number of teeth replacement solutions on the market, but the one most highly recommended by general dentistry professionals in Colorado Springs is dental implants.

In this two-part article series, we shall be taking a look at what dental implants are, how they work and what benefits they can offer Colorado Springs residents as functional and cosmetic solution to single and multiple missing teeth.

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are the only devices available that actually replace both the root and the crown of the missing tooth. Removable dentures and tooth-supported bridges only replace the visible portion of the tooth structure, the crown, which can cause problems for Colorado Springs residents in the long run. But before we get to the benefits of dental implants, let’s take a look at the anatomy of this fantastic technology:

“Dental implants are artificial ‘tooth roots’ that are manufactured from medical grade titanium. This is then used to support a ceramic tooth crown,” explain Colorado Springs dentists. “Titanium is an exceptionally strong metal and it is also non-corrosive, stable and non-toxic. The composite materials used to make the tooth crown are chosen for durability and strength, so a patient’s replacement tooth has the potential to last several decades if not a lifetime!”

How Do Dental Implants Work?

“Dental implants are manufactured from medical grade titanium metal, which has the unique property of being 100% biocompatible,” say general dentistry professionals in Colorado Springs. “This means that, over the weeks and months following surgery, the jawbone surrounding the implant will actually fuse to it, forming a strong bond that prevents the dental implant from being loose or falling out.”

“Dental implants are surgically placed at a predetermined site in the mouth… usually at the site of the missing tooth or teeth. In the case of whole arch restoration, the positioning of the implants is chosen strategically so that as few implants as possible can be used to provide support for a customized prosthetic dental bridge, which looks like a complete set of teeth and gums,” explain general dentistry professionals in Colorado Springs.

“The procedure itself only takes an hour or more, depending upon what a patient is having done and how many teeth they’re having replaced. Recovery only takes a few days, although you will be required to stick to a diet of soft foods for a few weeks while your jawbone heals.

Stay Tuned for Part 2

To read more about dental implants & about their benefits over other teeth replacement methods, stay tuned for the second Part of this article series, courtesy of Colorado Springs dentists.

Colorado Springs Dentists Discusses Removable Dentures and Alternatives, PART 2

This two-part article series addresses traditional removable dentures as a solution to multiple missing teeth and edentulism. It then goes on to explore the alternative - dental implants - and why they are regarded as more beneficial to patients.

Welcome to the second half of this two-part article series on removable dentures and the more modern teeth replacement technology on the market: dental implants. In Part 1, Colorado Springs dentists discussed what removable dentures are, how they work and what some of the challenges associated with them are. In this article, we shall discuss the more modern alternative - dental implants - and how they offer Pueblo CO residents a far more comfortable, functional and aesthetic solution to rampant tooth loss and edentulism (toothlessness).

What Are Dental Implants?

According to Colorado Springs dentists, dental implants are essentially artificial tooth roots. As you can see in the image above, they are tiny screws made from the exceptionally strong metal titanium. These devices are used to replace the roots of missing teeth and then to offer strong support for an overlying dental appliance, such as a ceramic crown or fixed bridge. These restorations replace the visible portion of the missing tooth or teeth.

How Can They Be Used To Replace All Of My Teeth?

Dental implants are popularly used to replace one or two missing teeth, but they can also be used to provide Pueblo CO residents with a complete set of new, non-removable teeth. In these cases four or more dental implants are strategically placed in regions of the mouth that contain a greater volume of strong and healthy bone tissue. A fixed (non-removable) prosthetic dental bridge is then attached to this array of implants, thus providing the patient with a complete set of beautiful teeth again (see image below).

What Are The Benefits of Dental Implants?

Unlike traditional removable dentures, dental implants are placed “permanently” in the mouth and the new teeth they support are non-removable. This eliminates many of the challenges and hassles people with dentures have to contend with, such as removing their teeth for cleaning and at nighttime. Dental implants derive all the support they need from the underlying jawbone, as is the case with natural teeth. As a result, Pueblo CO residents are spared all the pain and discomfort caused by bulky dentures pressing down on and rubbing against their gums.

According to dentists in Colorado Springs, some of the other benefits afforded by dental implants include:

• Dental implants feel natural,
• Dental implants support much slimmer and more comfortable replacement teeth,
• They are cared for and cleaned similarly to natural teeth,
• Dental implants enable patients to bite down with greater strength and to eat most of their favorite foods,
• They give patients a more beautiful, natural and confident smile.

Perhaps most importantly, dental implants resume the function of the missing tooth root, which helps to keep the underlying jawbone tissue stimulated. Through this stimulation, jawbone health is preserved, which prevents the early onset of aging through bone volume loss. Wearing removable dentures does nothing to prevent atrophy and the loss of bone volume in the jaw explains why denture wearers typically get that aged, sunken appearance around the mouth.

In Conclusion

Dental implants offer Pueblo CO residents a much better, more functional, comfortable and aesthetic solution to missing teeth. They also help to promote jawbone health, which prevents the deterioration of one’s natural youthful facial contours. It’s for these reasons and many more that Colorado Springs cosmetic dentists tend to recommend implants to those in need of new teeth.

Cosmetic Dentist in Pueblo CO Discusses Removable Dentures and Alternatives, PART 1

This two-part article series addresses traditional removable dentures as a solution to multiple missing teeth and edentulism. It then goes on to explore the alternative - dental implants - and why they are regarded as more beneficial to patients.

One way or another - whether through personal experience or having seen a loved one wear them - we all have an idea of what removable dentures or “false teeth” are. Prior to the innovation of dental implant techniques capable of replacing a patient’s entire set of teeth, dentures were really the only solution cosmetic dentists in Pueblo CO had available. If you had lost most or all of your original adult teeth, then a future of denture wearing was what you had to look forward to.

Technology has advanced considerably since these days and thank goodness it has because the teeth replacement techniques available today are far more comfortable and offer patients improved functionality and smile aesthetics. In spite of this, removable dentures are still the most popular method of teeth replacement, so let’s take a look at this technology.

What Are Dentures?

Removable dentures are artificial teeth that consist of an upper or lower set of ceramic teeth mounted into pink plastic or acrylic gums. Dentures are typically custom made for the Colorado Springs resident, although they are available in a range of standard sizes. Needless to say, custom-made dentures are likely to fit better and more comfortably.

How Do Dentures Work?

Dentures are essentially placed in the mouth over the gums where they rely on their bulk to remain stable. Other than this, there is nothing holding them in place, which is why they tend to shift around when eating and during conversation. It’s for this reason – for the discomfort associated with traditional dentures - that many dentists in Pueblo CO recommend dental implants instead, or at least dentures that are secured in the mouth using dental implants.

Challenges To Be Aware Of

Many of the challenges associated with wearing dentures arise from the fact that they are loose in the mouth. There is nothing really preventing them from moving around, which can cause the following problems:

• Oral discomfort,
• Constant self-consciousness,
• Difficulty eating,
• A low self-esteem,
• Unwillingness to smile openly.

Additionally, Colorado Springs cosmetic dentists warn patients that removable dentures do tend to press down on and rub against the gums during eating and conversation, which can cause them to become quite sore and inflamed. As a result many patients have to keep a tube of anesthetic gel handy to help relieve some of the discomfort associated with wearing dentures.

Other problems associated with the bulkiness and looseness of dentures include:

• Impediment of taste ability (bulkiness covers the soft palate),
• Lesser ability to experience the texture and temperature of one’s food,
• The triggering of the gag reflex,
• The repeated cost of anesthetic gels and adhesive strips to help secure dentures,
• Thin, stretched lips and aged smile aesthetics.

What Are The Alternatives?

Thankfully, as it was mentioned, Colorado Springs residents do have an alternative to dentures. Dental implants have been around for many decades, but it’s only recently – with the advent of newer, more sophisticated and less expensive techniques – that they’ve become accessible to the “average” person in need of a complete set of new teeth. The benefits they offer aren’t only aesthetic and functional in nature; dental implants also promote much better jawbone health…

Stay Tuned For Part 2

In the second half of this article series, cosmetic dentists shall explain the virtues and benefits of dental implants as an alternative teeth replacement solution to traditional removable dentures.