Greg Miller DDS—Advanced Dental Care

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Exciting Advances in Implant Dentistry

Posted by Cindy Enright, RDH, BS on July 21, 2015

With implant supported bridges and replacement teeth you can soon be eating what you want, when you want and where you want. You’ll put years of life back in your smile and regain the self-confidence and quality of life lost when your teeth were removed. Implant supported bridges and replacement teeth never have to come out. They are the closest thing to natural teeth. Innovative and technologically advanced implant techniques can change your life if you wear dentures or have a mouthful of missing or failing teeth. It is proven and cost effective and can give you a lifetime of happy, healthy smiles.


Besides looking and feeling better, a major benefit to dental implants is that they preserve bone, preventing deterioration of the facial structure, and therefore improving appearance. When natural teeth are missing, there is nothing left in the jawbone to stimulate bone growth. The body senses that the jawbone is no longer necessary and begins to dissolve it away. This deterioration of the jawbone can quickly result in facial collapse. The lips fold in and the lower face withers up. This process makes a person look much older than they actually are. When the entire tooth is replaced, the feel and function of natural teeth are reproduced and a strong, stable foundation that allows comfort when eating and speaking is created. Everything in the mouth looks natural. No one will know you have a new implant-supported smile except those you tell.


Improving oral health can also improve your overall health. Dental implants help create a healthier mouth and help reduce periodontal disease, a bacterially induced chronic infection and inflammatory disease. Periodontal disease does not resolve by itself. Left unchecked and allowed to worsen, it can lead to heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Dental implants will immediately improve the health of your mouth. And because dental implants imitate natural teeth, the care for them is also similar to that of caring for natural teeth. With routine maintenance and regular checkups, you can maintain your beautiful, healthy smile for a lifetime.


Tooth replacement with traditional tooth-supported bridges requires grinding down the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth, so that the bridge can be cemented onto them and into place. This natural tooth structure, once ground down, can never be replaced and the long-term health of these teeth are compromised. Partial dentures have clasps that hook onto adjacent teeth, putting pressure on these teeth as the metal framework rocks back and forth. In addition, the clasps eat away at the remaining gum tissue, causing even more harm. Eventually the teeth supporting the partial can loosen and fail as a result of this unnatural pressure. Replacing missing teeth with implant-supported crowns and bridges does not involve the adjacent natural teeth, so they are not compromised, damaged or destroyed. Your healthy teeth can remain healthy and your smile lasts even longer.


If dentures and partials are replaced with implant-supported teeth, the overall enhancement in quality of life is even more significant. Returned is the ability to eat all types of foods, even crunchy or sticky snacks. If you’re a denture or partial wearer, you’ll never have to deal with messy adhesives or cleaning cups. Implant-supported replacement teeth never have to come out – not for daily cleaning, not for brushing and flossing, not for a medical exam or during a hospital stay, not for any reason at all. Be confident when eating, drinking and sleeping. Dental implants are permanent. Just like your new smile.


With the highest success rate of any tooth-replacement option and a track record spanning decades, dental implants are the best long-term solution to missing teeth. By utilizing biomechanically positioned multiple implants to share biting forces, fixed bridges are the most economical option for stable dental implant treatment with exquisite esthetic results. When properly cared for, implants can last the rest of your life -- that’s what makes them such a good value.
There is no question that permanent teeth add comfort, confidence, vigor and vitality to the quality of life and surprisingly the procedure can be done in one day! Consult your dentist if this technique sounds like an exciting option for you.