TMJ Help Program

Did you know that dental implants are frequently the best treatment option for replacing missing teeth? Rather than resting on the gum line like removable dentures, or using adjacent teeth as anchors like fixed bridges, dental implants are long-term replacements that your specialist dentist surgically places in the jawbone.

Statistics show that 69% of adults ages 35 to 44 have lost at least one permanent tooth to an accident, gum disease, a failed root canal or tooth decay. Furthermore, by age 74, 26% of adults have lost all of their permanent teeth. Twenty years ago, these patients would have had no alternative but to employ a fixed bridge or removable denture to restore their ability to eat, speak clearly and smile. Removable dentures may slip or cause embarrassing clicking sounds while eating or speaking. Of even greater concern, fixed bridges often affect adjacent healthy teeth, Recurrent decay, periodontal (gum) disease and other factors often doom fixed bridgework to early failure. For these reasons, fixed bridges and removable dentures usually need to be replaced every seven to 15 years.

Implants are the subsitutes for teeth and they are the today’s best alternative to your natural teeth. They offer you a permanent and secure solution for replacing one or more teeth. They are made of biocompatible materials. They act like your original teeth and functionally and they act like one. You can eat and chew without pain or irritation. The most important is implants can help you maintain your bone structure and support your facial tissues.They reduce or eiminate the bone atrophy, which causes shrinkage of facial cosmetic changes.The implants can prevent TMD(joint) problems. When a tooth is lost the adjacent and opposing teeth start to grow in the gap. This could result in disturbing the occlusion (bite) and causing joint problems. Also no need to grind your healthy adjacent teeth to close the gap with bridge work.

A single implant can serve to support a crown replacing a single missing tooth. Implants can also be used to support a dental bridge for the replacement of multiple missing teeth, and can be used with dentures to increase stability and reduce gum tissue irritation.

Implants are appropriate for just about everyone. There is no concern over your age. Good health and adequate bone structure is needed to make you candidate for implant treatment. While precautions are advisable for certain conditions, patients with such chronic diseases as high blood pressure and diabetes are usually successful candidates for dental implant treatment

You need total intraoral and radiological examination before the implant therapy. Your jaw bone level shoud be controlled three dimensionally. Implants are inserted in the jaw bone surgically with local anesthesia and osseohealing phase starts. Osseohealing means jaw bone cells attach on the implant surfaces and becomes strong and a part of your body. A period of 2-4 months is needed to let a strong base to form. During this healing time the patients can wear temproray crowns or dentures just esthetically. After the healing, new crowns or dentures are placed on the top of the base structure.

Implants have changed not only patients’ smile and their overall appearence but also even their lives!