Single
Implants
The absence of a tooth can affect your ability to eat, speak, and smile. It can also affect your confidence.
Moreover, a missing tooth can lead to serious dental problems. It is essential to replace the lost tooth as soon as possible. At Ellen Stirling Dental, we offer affordable solutions for replacing your missing teeth that are customized to meet your needs and budget.
One dental implant and one crown is an affordable option for replacing a single lost natural tooth. This solution provides superior comfort and function compared to traditional dentures or bridges. Dental implants are designed to mimic the appearance, feel, and function of real teeth so that you can enjoy a beautiful smile again. By surgically implanting them into the jawbone, they integrate with the surrounding bone tissue, creating an anchor for replacement teeth. With a single tooth implant, you will experience the comfort of a tooth that looks natural and feel confident in any situation.
Dental implants are a great approach to replacing a single tooth, several teeth, or all of them. They provide several advantages over other options for replacing teeth.
The surrounding teeth are saved by replacing only one tooth and skipping the traditional bridge technique. A dental implant not only looks and functions like a natural tooth, but also replaces a single tooth without jeopardizing the health of other teeth. The other typical treatment option for a single tooth loss is a tooth-supported fixed bridge, which necessitates the grinding down of neighbouring teeth to support the cemented bridge.
A single implant can be more cosmetic and easier to maintain in the long run than a bridge. When the metal base or collar of a bridge is exposed, gums might recede around it, presenting a visible defect. A smile with the resorbed bone beneath the bridge might be unsightly. Furthermore, the cement that holds the bridge in place might wash away, allowing bacteria to eat away at the teeth that anchor it.
Your teeth were created to function as a team. Your mouth functions best when you have all your teeth. Your remaining teeth and jaw muscles have to work harder when you lose teeth, making them more prone to wear and damage. Your bite may change to compensate for missing teeth, and the remaining teeth may shift and migrate as a result of the extra space. Losing teeth can trigger a ripple effect, resulting in a cycle of tooth loss until all of them are lost.
The neighbouring teeth are no longer supported when a tooth is lost. This situation causes the surrounding teeth to shift and become elongated as a result of the movement. When teeth move, the gums and bone change as well. Other problems can arise as a result, including tooth sensitivity, tooth decay, tooth grinding, tooth loss, and difficulty chewing.
If chewing your food becomes difficult or uncomfortable, you may find yourself eating only on one side of your mouth or eating at a considerably slower rate. Your jaw and face muscles may be affected and cause your mouth to move, changing the form of your face.
Additionally, you may not be able to pronounce words correctly. The teeth play an essential role in communicating. Losing a tooth could affect your ability to pronounce words correctly.
There may be little or no effect in some circumstances. You may not notice a gap in your mouth, depending on where a missing tooth is located. It may be the case if you are missing a tooth on the side or back of your mouth. However, if the gap is clearly noticeable, it might negatively affect your confidence.
Implants are used to replace missing teeth permanently. In cases where one tooth is missing or if a tooth needs to be extracted and replaced for function, comfort, and aesthetics, a single dental implant is an ideal solution. They are a permanent solution to:
Your jawbone must be strong enough to sustain the implant in order to be considered a suitable candidate for dental implants. The surrounding gum tissue and teeth must be in good condition. Bone grafting can be performed to add more bone if there isn’t enough to hold it in place.
It is critical that the dentist performs a comprehensive examination and evaluation of your medical history. Diabetes, liver illness, or a serious bleeding disorder, for example, may rule you out as a suitable candidate for dental implants.
It can take months to complete a single dental implant procedure, but it is an effective way to restore the stability and aesthetics of the mouth.
The initial stage will be bone grafting if your dentist deems that your jawbone isn’t strong enough to support the implant. Grafting is the process of attaching synthetic material to your jaw or transferring bone from another source to strengthen it. In this case, your jaw will need to recover for 4-12 months before the implant may be placed.
The dental implant, usually made of biocompatible materials like titanium, is then inserted into the bone to make an exact replica of your root structure. This procedure necessitates oral surgery, which is usually performed under local anaesthetic. To expose the bone, your oral surgeon will make an incision in your gum. The metal implant is inserted into holes bored into the bone. Bonding between the implant and bone takes place over the next 2-6 months to form an anchor for your artificial tooth. A temporary tooth replacement solution can be worn over the implant site during this time.
Your dentist may wish to insert a healing cap after the implant has adequately bonded with the bone—this aids in the proper healing of the gum tissue, which usually takes two weeks. The cap is then removed, and the abutment is fitted into place on the implant. While the gums recover around the abutment, you will be fitted with a temporary crown.
Finally, your dentist will take an impression to manufacture your crown, usually made from ceramic. It will then be attached to the abutment with screws or cement to keep it firmly in place. You can brush and floss this new “tooth” as you would any other tooth in your mouth to keep your mouth healthy.
The following are potential risks of single dental implants:
Here are some alternatives to single implants: