Everybody knows for a fact that dental implants are the most prominent way of replacing lost or damaged teeth in dentistry. They easily outrun root canal therapy and bridges in a blow. They also tend to illustrate a much better performance when it comes to longevity and durability.
With dental implants, patients gain the ability to chew again like they used to before and improve their overall quality of life. But are there any other benefits besides the aesthetics of it that we are missing out on? Are there any health benefits of dental implants that have not been on the surface?
In this article we are going to go over just a few health benefits of dental implants. Let’s get started.
What Do We Mean By Health Benefits of Dental Implants?
You are definitely already aware of the countless aesthetic benefits of dental implants. For example, everybody knows implants are pretty difficult to recognize by untrained eyes. You must also be aware of their other benefits in the long run.
But what do we really mean when we talk about the health benefits of dental implants?
The reality is that a good zirconia dental implant will play a crucial role in your overall health. Not just your oral health but your overall health in general. The truth is that your oral health is much more important and complicated than you think. That is why some doctors, such as Dr. Horiyat, are specialized in a holistic approach. This is to make sure the overall health of their patients is not compromised by a common treatment and dental implants are no exceptions.
Now having said, let’s dive into some of the most important health benefits of dental implants.
Benefit #1: Saves You From Jawbone Bone Loss
It is a hard stone-carved fact that once you lose a tooth, you will start to lose some of your jawbone. This is a very serious condition and here’s why.
When there is a healthy tooth along with its root inside of the bone, there are countless nutritions being exchanged between the tooth and the body to keep the tissues alive. Also the tooth itself acts as an agent to keep the bone around it intact. Think of trees in the forest. Without them the soil will be washed away and lost. That is not the exact mechanism but I think you got the idea.
As Dr. Horiyat always points out, there is no such a thing as an empty space in the body. Cavitation is quite different from cavity. The term cavity refers to a hole or damage on a certain part of a tooth while the word cavitation points to trauma on the entire jawbone.
Jawbone loss or cavitation is a very serious condition. It is known to be the major cause behind a large number of chronic diseases. Furthermore, reports have linked jawbone cavitation with some autoimmune diseases as well. Some examples are Alzheimer, Parkinson Disease, unsystematic health issues and even cancer.
Benefit #2: Keeps Your Smile Intact
Have you noticed that when you have a tooth extracted, there will remain an empty space between the adjacent teeth? You must have noticed it. Aesthetics aside, if you leave that empty space empty, it is going to negatively impact the formation of your teeth resulting in a very unattractive smile.
This occurs because the teeth are structured in a way to lean and rely on one another. Once a tooth is gone missing, the adjacent teeth have no place to lean up on while being pushed by the other teeth towards the empty space. This means soon your teeth will start to have spaces between them. But that is not even the bad part yet. This condition can often lead to a total deformation of your teeth. Meaning your teeth will start to look spaced out and crooked over time. You will lose your beautiful smile and the process for reversing the damage done may not be easy, that is if the damage is actually reversible.
One way your dentist might try and prevent this is with the use of dental bridges, spacers or temporary crowns while you are going through the process of installing a dental implant as the process can in some cases take a long time as there are a number of intervention and healing stages to consider.
Benefit #3: Maintaining Gum Health
Last but definitely not least are gum diseases! Leaving a big tooth hole in your mouth, which is called a socket, is not a good idea at all. In short, it will act as a convenient route for the bacteria and other harmful things to enter your body and cause all kinds of mess.
One of the most common conditions that is caused by keeping the empty space empty is the occurrence of gum recession. It is a very serious condition where your gum level starts to go lower than where it is meant to be which on its own, can lead to further chronic illnesses.
One of the many health benefits of dental implants is the prevention of such catastrophes from ever happening. That is of course if you have opted for a metal free zirconia dental implants and not for a titanium one. By installing a dental implant, you are essentially filling the empty hole with something that is biocompatible that can artificially do what your actual tooth was doing.
What Now?
Now that you are convinced and well informed about the health benefits of dental implants, the next step you need to take is to visit Aria Dental Care to have your oral health checked and see if there is anything you must do for it. Dr. Maryam Horiyat is an IAOMT certified professional holistic dentist (see certification here) and often encourages all individuals who have had some sort of tooth extraction or root canal therapy to undergo dental implant installation. Make sure to check out our zirconia dental implant page by clicking here.
