Dental Implants

How Natural Do Dental Implants Look?

As someone with one or more missing teeth, you may be wondering how natural dental implants will look. The thought of others noticing that your teeth are not original may worry you or make you feel self-conscious. Here are some details on how dental implants work and appear.

What do dental implants entail?

If you are new to the world of dental restoration, you may be completely in the dark about how dental implants are inserted into a patient's mouth. The process entails several steps that are outlined here.

1. Dental health evaluation

Before a dental implant can be inserted, your dentist will need to evaluate the health of your other teeth, gums, and jawbone. Since the jawbone must be strong enough to hold the replacement tooth, some patients require bone grafting prior to the restoration. Bone grafting is a procedure that involves taking tissue from elsewhere in your own body or from a tissue bank to replace the weakened bone area.

In addition to proper jawbone density, your gums must also be healthy. If yours are not, you could require treatment before your dentist moves forward with the implant process.

2. Placement of the implant

When your mouth is healthy enough to begin the implant procedure, your dentist will insert the implant by cutting your gum to reveal your jawbone. Next, your oral health care professional will drill a hole into your bone and attach the implant to the jawbone. The metal post that acts as your tooth root is inserted deeply to prevent the permanent crown from moving.

If you prefer a temporary crown while your mouth heals, one can be placed.

3. Bone growth

After the implant post has been placed, you must wait several months for the bone to grow around it. Your dentist will determine when your mouth is ready for placement of the abutment.

4. Abutment placement

Many patients require minor surgery to place the abutment to which their permanent crown will attach. This is done via an outpatient procedure that entails reopening the gum to affix the abutment to the metal implant post. Your dentist will then seal the gums and give you around two weeks to heal before proceeding to the next step in the process.

5. Impressions made

After your gums have had adequate time to heal, impressions of your mouth can be taken. These allow your oral health care professional to make the permanent crown resemble the surrounding teeth as closely as possible. This is the step that helps create the natural-looking implant desired by most dental patients. 

6. Crown placement

The final step in the process of inserting dental implants is cementing the crown into place. This is accomplished either using dental cement or a screw. For front teeth, cement is often used because it is tooth-colored and can offer an untouched appearance. However, implant crowns placed with screws typically last longer than those secured with cement.

How do implants help you retain your natural look?

Though many dental patients worry whether their implants will appear realistic, the truth is that without replacing missing teeth, you will likely suffer from degeneration of your jawbone. Further, your facial muscles can be affected by the loss of a tooth and your cheeks could begin to appear withdrawn or sunken.

By getting an implant, you can help retain your facial structure. This coupled with a crown made from porcelain or ceramic can provide you with a dental implant that most other people will not notice. Additionally, your oral health care professional can match the crown to the shade of your original teeth in your mouth. Your dentist will likely hold cards with various hues next to your natural teeth to see which most closely fits.

Conclusion

How natural your dental implants look depends upon several factors. One of those is which type of material is used to form the crown; the other is whether cement or a screw is used to secure the crown. Lastly, a color-matching wheel of cards is used to help your dentist identify the proper tint to fit in with the rest of your teeth. While in some cases people may be able to tell that you have dental implants, in many cases they will not. If someone can tell, they will probably have had to take a scrutinizing look before noticing any difference between the implant and your natural teeth.

Request an appointment here: https://www.longgrovedental.com or call Long Grove Dental at (847) 636-5020 for an appointment in our Long Grove office.

Check out what others are saying about our dental services on Yelp: Dental Implants in Long Grove, IL.

Recent Posts

3 Reasons To Choose Implants For Tooth Restoration

Dental implants are one of the most popular forms of tooth restoration due to the range of benefits they can offer. By learning more about why so many are choosing dental implants to replace one or more missing teeth, patients can determine if they are the best option for them. Every patient has a different experience…

Can I Play Sports With Dental Implants?

Dentists generally recommend dental implants as a natural choice for replacing missing teeth. If you play sports regularly, especially contact sports, you may be worried about continued participation after having your lost teeth replaced. This article covers what you need to know about playing sports with dental implants.Every sport has required skills, levels of fitness…

Ask A Dentist: Am I A Candidate For Dental Implants?

If you are missing at least one or more teeth, you may qualify as a candidate for dental implants. Dental implants are the best option for replacing missing teeth. Having missing teeth can harm your oral health, and untreated tooth loss can interrupt your chewing ability and even affect the structure of your mouth. If…

Why Dental Implants Are Comfortable And Secure

Dental implants are becoming a very popular choice for replacing missing teeth. Many patients ask about implants because they are known to look and feel the most like natural teeth. Any person could need to replace a missing tooth or teeth for a variety of reasons. You may not have kept up on your oral hygiene…

Long Grove Dental

Share
Published by
Long Grove Dental

Recent Posts

Emergency Dentist: When To Seek Immediate Dental Care

Pain is often the first indicator that you may require a visit to the emergency…

1 week ago

Caring for Your Dental Bridge: Tips for Longevity

A traditional dental bridge can replace up to three or four consecutive teeth on the…

1 month ago

Are Dental Veneers Right for You? Explore Your Options

Minor flaws in your teeth might make you hide your smile. If so, dental veneers…

2 months ago

How a Restorative Dentist Can Help After a Traumatic Accident

One of the primary concerns that often develops after a traumatic incident is the development…

4 months ago

How an Experienced Implant Dentist Can Improve Your Smile

An implant dentist can replace one or more missing teeth and thereby improve the appearance…

5 months ago

Clear Aligners from a General Dentist

Clear aligners are becoming more and more popular as they offer advantages that traditional braces…

6 months ago