5 Reasons to Choose Dental Implants to Replace Missing Teeth

The United States is one of the richest countries in the world, but its dental care falls short. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that, by the time American teenagers reach 17 years, 7% have lost at least one permanent tooth to decay or gum disease. That number increases to a whopping 69% for adults 35-44. And the average person, by the time they reach 50 years, has lost an average of 12 teeth.

Tooth loss is a serious condition. It not only affects how you appear to others and how you feel about yourself, but it also affects your oral health and your overall health. There’s nothing positive about losing teeth.

At Century City Smiles & Orthodontics in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, our team specializes in cosmetic and family dentistry, as well as the placement of dental implants in our patients experiencing tooth loss. Whether it’s one tooth or many, we recommend this marvel of modern technology to restore a healthy and happy smile.

Missing teeth impact your oral health

Missing teeth put your oral health at risk, and research shows that the risk increases with each subsequent tooth that’s lost. Consequences of loss include:

Atrophy of jawbone: The bone needs chewing pressure to maintain mass.
Recession of gum tissue: Pockets near tooth root house bacteria, weakening teeth on both sides of the gap.
Plaque buildup/tooth decay: Bacteria can easily reach teeth surfaces next to a gap.
Shifting teeth: Adjacent teeth move into the gap, which can lead to misalignment and difficulty chewing and speaking.

Aesthetically, missing teeth are problematic as well. They alter your facial structure, with your lips puckering inward and your cheeks sagging into hollows. These age your face and can make you uncomfortable about your appearance.

Restoration options

When most people lose a tooth, they look to common restoration options such as bridges, crowns, and dentures (partial and full) to fill the gap.

It may seem surprising with today’s technology, but removable complete dentures, which fill the entire arch of missing teeth in the upper and/or lower jaw, are still popular. Dentures are essentially a row of tooth-colored acrylic crowns attached to a gum-colored acrylic base that sits on top of your gums and is held in place either by suction or adhesive products like Polygrip®. They’re initially less expensive than dental implants, but they have several drawbacks:

Can shift, click, or pop out when you eat or speak
Need replacement after 7-15 years
Have to be removed for regular cleaning
Don’t stimulate underlying jawbone

Dentures can also take a bit of time to get used to. You need to learn how to bite and chew using an appliance instead of your natural teeth and where to place your tongue in your mouth to speak properly and clearly.

The dental implant

Titanium dental implants were first introduced in 1965 and are now the gold standard in tooth restoration. They offer permanent, whole-tooth replacements that look and function like your natural teeth.

Implants are placed with two office visits. At the first, Dr. Saidian places a titanium screw into your jawbone. This screw will serve as the tooth’s “root,” anchoring the entire replacement in the supporting bone. Once inserted, you have to wait about 3-4 months before completion to allow the area to heal and for osseointegration — the bone’s fusion with the implant — to take place.

Once everything has healed, you come back to the office, and Dr. Saidian attaches an abutment (connector) to the screw and tops it with a bridge, dental crown, or overdenture — a full arch of acrylic teeth that contains snaps that lock the denture onto the abutments. If you go this route, you remove the overdenture each night to clean.

If you’re looking for a completely permanent restoration, you need the All-on-4® system. We use only four strategically placed implants, each of which we push through the denture material to plant in the bone.