How Osseointegration Sets Dental Implants Apart From Other Tooth Replacement Options

You’ve lost a tooth, and your Fort Worth, Texas, dentist has provided several options for replacement. Depending on your situation, you will look at a dental bridge, dentures, and dental implants as options for replacing your missing tooth or teeth. While all three options offer specific and unique benefits, dental implants, as offered by Dr. Spencer Hoyt and the team at Fort Worth Dental Arts, provide benefits that cannot be matched.

Many dentists consider dental implants the best option for tooth replacement due to some unique benefits that isolate implants as the “gold standard” for tooth replacement.

Dental Implants Replace the Entire Tooth

Two primary concerns come to mind when you think about replacing a tooth. First, if the tooth is highly visible, you are likely concerned with how your smile will look in public. Second, if the tooth is a molar, you may be concerned about how it will impact your ability to chew food properly. These are both very valid concerns, but there is a third concern many people don’t think about until it is brought up by their dentist – the health of your jawbone.

Your jawbone depends on stimulation from the roots of your teeth to remain healthy. When a tooth is lost, so is this stimulation. Over time, your jawbone can begin to shrink and be reabsorbed into the body if the tooth is not replaced. Dental bridges and dentures do not replace the root (unless they are implant-supported). A dental implant is the only tooth replacement option that replaces the tooth both above and below the gumline.

The Importance of Osseointegration

Getting a dental implant is a surgical procedure. The implant post has to be surgically implanted into the jawbone. Once this is done, the surgical incision is closed, and a period of four to twelve weeks is needed for you to heal and a process called osseointegration to take place. This process is vital to the dental implant process.

During osseointegration, your implant integrates and bonds with the jawbone. This creates a firm anchor for your dental implant and ensures that your implant will provide the stimulation needed to keep your jawbone healthy.

To learn more about dental implants and find a dentist who is best at providing implant services, please contact Dr. Hoyt at Fort Worth Dental Arts by calling (817) 529-1600.

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