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Show Your Teeth Some Respect

Think about how many times per day you rely on your teeth. You use them to chew breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. You press your tongue against them to make certain sounds when you speak. There's really no doubt about it — your teeth are important, and they deserve your respect. You can pay them that respect by visiting your dentist for regular cleaning and checkup appointments. You should also call at the first sign of dental pain, tooth discoloration, or other oral health changes. Read more about dentists and dentistry here on this blog, where we dive deep into related topics.

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Show Your Teeth Some Respect

How Dental Implants Work

by April Myers

If you have missing teeth but are unable or unwilling to get dentures or regular dental crowns, then dental implants may be right for you. If you are interested, then you may be interested in knowing just how they work before you ask your dentist to start the installation process. If so, this guide is for you. Dental implants help replace missing or broken teeth by connecting titanium to your jawbone and attaching a false tooth, or crown, to the dental implant itself with an abutment.

Screw With Bone

Technically, dental implants only refer to the screw that attaches to your jaw bone. This screw works to serve as a foundation for the crown attached to your dental implant, and it's essentially a replacement for the root of your missing tooth. These screws are made out of titanium because titanium naturally fuses with the bone and can actually stimulate bone growth where it's implanted. Once your titanium screw is bonded to your jaw bone, you can start attaching the crown with an abutment.

Abutments

Abutments, like the dental implant itself, are also made from titanium and are attached to the screw so that it can hold your crown. While the dental implant is meant to bond with your jawbone, abutments are more solvent and do not. Instead, they are attached to your dental implant to where they are (mostly) outside of your gums but inside of your upcoming crown. Without the abutments, you would need to have your crown attached to what is essentially artificial bone.

Crowns

Finally, once your dental implants and abutments are fully installed and your gums have healed, your prosthetic tooth will be attached. These false teeth are custom-made for your mouth and gums using previous dental records and current models of your teeth and gums. This way, the shape and size of your crown will match the rest of your teeth, false teeth or otherwise, and remain a comfortable fit. You may be fitted with temporary crowns to test the crowns before they are permanently attached to your abutment.

If you are interested in getting dental implants, then you should know that the actual implant consists of a small titanium screw that bonds with your jaw bone. From there, a smaller titanium abutment is attached to the implant and then to a prosthetic tooth specially made for your mouth. Contact a dentist near you today and ask them about their dental implant offerings.

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