What Are The Pros And Cons Of Dental Implants?

Dr. Hal N. Arnold offers some of the best dental implants on the market. Dental implants are a surgical component that interfaces with the bone of the jaw or skull to support a dental prosthesis such as a crown, bridge, denture, facial prosthesis or to act as an orthodontic anchor. Anyone missing one or more teeth, or who is unhappy about their dentures, is a good candidate for dental implants. Dental implants are the most common and most recommended form of tooth replacement. This is due to technological improvements that have resulted in less patient pain and inconvenience than ever before. There are some advantages and disadvantages to using dental implants, and we will cover those here.

Pros

Dental implants are incredibly safe and secure. Once you have passed through the healing period, which is typically three to eight weeks, the implants should not give any problems whatsoever. Care will still need to be taken with what foods are eaten and how the implants are maintained, but they are typically very low maintenance and can handle just about anything.

Dental implants are incredibly durable. Indeed, if you take care of them they are as durable as your natural teeth. The typical dental implant will last anywhere between ten and fifteen years.

Dental implants do not rely on other teeth around them to give them support. Whereas bridges need support teeth and wear down on those teeth, dental implants can stand on their own. Dental implants rely for their support on bolts which are burrowed into the bone of the jaw. They do not rely on other teeth or cause damage to other teeth.

Aesthetically, dental implants look and feel just like any other tooth, which gives them a wonderful aesthetic.

Bone health actually improves as a result of using dental implants because the implants are replacing the root of your teeth. Bone loss, there, is much less likely.

Dental implants are also more practical than other solutions, for example, dentures. This is because they do not affect speech or eating, given that the implant’s titanium post is fused to the jaw, so that the implant remains in place.

Cons

Dental implants are not for everyone, however. A patient seeking treatment may not be eligible. Dental implants require healthy, strong, fairly dense bones. Anything outside very specific parameters of bone density will make dental implants unviable.

Bridges and dentures are still much cheaper than dental implants. The implant can cost anywhere from two to five times as much as other methods. This can also mean that many healthcare plans will not support this procedure. Even if your insurer covers the procedure, you will still have to cover a part of it, your portion depending on your healthcare plan. If a dentist says that other methods that are cheaper are still viable, then many insurance companies will only cover those cheaper methods, unless more extensive coverage is purchased.

Dental implants are also a lot more complicated than other options. It can take up to six months for dental implants to fuse with the bones. They take longer to complete, and they require a greater commitment from the patient. This is not a quick fix.

Although rare, dental implants put the patient at greater risk for gum infection and disease. There are more risks involved in having dental implants put in than other methods of tooth replacement, even if those risks are quite small. In extreme cases, a patient may develop periodontal disease, leading to bone loss.

Dental implants may require additional procedures. If, for example, a patient does not have enough bone to support the implant, that patient may require a bone graft. Or a patient may need to lift their sinuses if their sinuses are too close to the jawbone. The additional procedures increase the amount of time for the whole procedure while also increasing costs.

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