Tooth loss affects millions of Americans every year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 40% of American adults over the age of 30 are missing at least one tooth. While gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss, accidents and severe tooth decay are also known to cause the issue. Luckily, there are a number of options available for full or partial tooth loss, with the dentists at Kevin M. Brown, DMD, and Associates in Ayers, MA, recommending dental implants as the most successful and realistic feeling tooth replacement treatment!
Restore Your Smile and Oral Health with Dental Implants in Ayer, MA
Along with the obvious cosmetic issues, tooth loss can also affect your oral and general health as well. From making eating more difficult to causing jawbone detioration, an incomplete smile is more than just an embarrassing aesthetic issue. When it comes to counteracting these health problems, dental implants are the only method that fully prevents them, thanks to how the treatment effectively replaces the missing tooth roots.
Treatment entails that a small implant (a biocompatible titanium post) be surgically placed in the socket of the missing tooth. Once in place, the post begins to fuse with the surrounding bone tissue through a process called osseointegration, which helps to both prevent bone loss and anchor the implant in place. Once the implant has healed, a cosmetic crown is attached atop the implant through an abutment.
Caring for Your Dental Implants
Practicing good oral hygiene and keeping up with follow up dental care is essential. Implants have a very high success rate, but good oral hygiene and preventive dental care is necessary to lower the risk of complications from the implant, as well as to avoid gum disease. If you are a healthy adult with enough bone density in the gums to support an implant, you may be a good candidate for treatment. Implants are available to replace everything from a single missing tooth to an entire set of dentures.
Find a Dentist in Ayer, MA
For more information about dental implants and whether they are right for you, contact our office by calling (978) 772-3747 to schedule an appointment with a dentist today.