Are your missing teeth keeping you from living your best life? If you’re having trouble speaking, eating, or smiling confidently, it may be time to get your lost teeth replaced. While dentures are a tried and true solution to tooth loss, they take some time getting used to. They also don’t feel quite as natural as your original pearly whites. Dental implants in Pepper Pike, on the other hand, are often said to feel perfectly natural. Keep reading as we answer the question “What do dental implants feel like?”
But First, What Are Dental Implants?
Traditional dentures and bridges replace the crown portions of the teeth, which is the part that sits above the gums. Dental implants are the only option that recreates the entire tooth structure. A dental implant is a screw-shaped titanium post that is surgically placed into the jawbone, acting as the tooth’s root. Titanium is biocompatible, so it actually fuses to your jawbone in a process called osseointegration. Basically, it becomes a part of your anatomy, forging a powerful bond. After three to six months, when osseointegration is finished, your dentist restores your implants with a personalized crown, bridge, or denture.
What Do Dental Implants Feel Like?
The roots of your natural teeth contain nerves that can feel hot and cold sensations as well as pressure. Although implants mimic the roots’ structure, they don’t contain nerves, so you won’t experience these sensations. If you do feel any sensitivity, it will come from the gums surrounding the implant rather than the implant itself.
Just because the implant doesn’t have nerves doesn’t mean it won’t feel natural, though. Whenever you bite or chew with your implant-retained tooth, the implant post stimulates your jawbone in the exact same way as the roots of your natural tooth once did. This prevents the bone from shrinking as it normally does after tooth loss. Not only does this reduce your risk of gum disease, but it allows the jawbone to better support more facial structures and keep them from wrinkling or drooping.
Other Reasons to Get Dental Implants
Besides looking and feeling natural, dental implants offer multiple benefits, including:
- A success rate of more than 95%, even after 10+ years
- Easy maintenance – just brush, floss, and attend dental checkups regularly
- Keep remaining teeth from drifting into the gap in your smile
- Smile and eat with confidence again
- Unmatched stability that allows you to chew virtually any food
Within a few short months after receiving your dental implants in Pepper Pike, they should feel like a natural part of your smile. If you’re ready to rebuild your smile with the next best thing to your original teeth, ask your dentist if you’re a good candidate for dental implants.
About the Author
After practicing dentistry in Ukraine for years, Dr. Vladimir Pastouk attended the Advanced Standing Program at the College of Dentistry at Nova Southeastern University. Since then, he has become a Fellow of the Misch International Implant Institute, an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, a Diplomate of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, and a Sustained Member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is well-qualified to place and restore dental implants at Dental & Cosmetic Solutions in Cleveland, OH. To find out whether they’re right for you, contact Dr. Pastouk’s office at (216) 292-3600.