How can dental implants affect your smile?

Do you have missing teeth?

The chances are, you’ll feel conscious of how you look – causing you to cover your mouth with your hand when you speak or to hide your smile when someone points a camera in your direction.

However, this needn’t be the case – not when our dental implants offer a long-term solution to missing teeth.

Here the team at Dental Elegance explain what dental implants are and how they can impact your smile permanently.

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are designed to mimic natural teeth, helping to restore missing teeth and bring the shine back to your smile.

A titanium screw is expertly placed into the jawbone, acting as a replacement for the missing tooth root and creating stability for the new tooth to fit onto.

The procedure itself is done under anaesthetic, meaning you shouldn’t feel too much pain.

Once the implant is in place, you’ll have to wait for it to fuse with the surrounding jawbone. When it has healed, the false tooth can be placed on the prosthesis – providing the look, feel and functionality of a natural tooth.

To determine whether you’re an ideal candidate for dental implants in Kent, we suggest contacting our dental practice in Sidcup. This will allow us to scan your jawbone to assess its strength and whether it can support the artificial tooth.

Enhancing your smile with dental implants

  • Improved appearance

Losing a tooth can impact your daily life and how you interact with others. Some people may also find that their face sags where they have missing teeth.

However, dental implants can close the noticeable gap in your smile – giving you the confidence to talk, smile and laugh without hiding your teeth. And they can replace the lost structure to provide a refreshed and rejuvenated appearance.

Another benefit of implants is that they’re natural looking – meaning you won’t notice the difference between your real teeth and artificial teeth.

  • Better oral health

Missing teeth increase the risk of periodontal disease (gum disease) by allowing bacteria to build in the gum. However, implants can prevent gum disease, ensuring the adjacent teeth don’t deteriorate and need to be extracted and replaced, too.

When you lose a tooth, your teeth naturally move to fill the gap, which can alter the shape of your smile. The good news is, dental implants align perfectly with your other teeth to give you a natural smile.

Implants can protect your jawbone – keeping it strong and healthy and preventing it from sinking or melting. This also helps to eliminate a hollow or sunken facial appearance, allowing you to achieve (and maintain) a more youthful look. Now, if that doesn’t put a smile on your face, we don’t know what will!

  • Reinstated speech

There are certain words and sounds that we use our teeth to help us pronounce. If you have missing teeth and gaps in your smile, it could affect your speech.

As well as restoring your smile and improving oral health, dental implant surgery can prevent whistling and slurring when you talk. Unlike dentures, implants are fixed to the jawbone. They won’t slip when you open your mouth to speak.

By restoring natural speech patterns, replacing missing teeth with dental implants will effectively increase self-confidence.

  • Restored eating habits

If you have missing or wobbly teeth, avoiding hard foods, such as crusty bread, steak and apples, will save you from discomfort.

Having a gap means it’s easier for food particles and bacteria to settle on your teeth – making it difficult to clean around them and increasing your risk of developing periodontal disease.

Dental implants are surgically placed into the jawbone to create a secure bond. This means that, whatever foods you choose to enjoy, you can trust that your implant won’t move. All the more reason to grin from ear to ear!

Ready to transform your smile with dental implants?

At Dental Elegance, we offer treatments to suit the needs of patients in Kent and the surrounding areas.

You’re welcome to arrange an appointment at our warm and welcoming dental practice in Sidcup, where you’ll be made to feel welcome from the moment you step through the door.

After examining your oral health, our dentists will be able to tell you whether our dental implants in Kent are a viable option for you and, if necessary, what other corrective work is required.

Our dentists will talk you through the procedure – ensuring you know exactly what to expect – and will happily answer your questions. So, why not get in touch with us today by calling 0208 850 8820?