subject: Dental Implants: A Look At Tooth Replacement [print this page] Whether due to injury, decay, or other reasons, it's not uncommon to lose a tooth at some point in your life. At that time, you'll be presented with a choice: replace the tooth artificially or move on without the tooth. While it's cheaper to simply accept the loss, this choice can have negative reactions to both your appearance and oral health. Tooth shift can occur, so even if it's a back tooth that went missing, it can affect your appearance considerably over time. If you want a replacement, dental implants give you one of your best options.
Success Rates
The success rates for dental implants are generally very high in otherwise healthy patients. A good dentist will take a look at the health of a patient's gums and teeth and use that to determine whether or not the patient is a good candidate for the treatment. These factors and the decision of where in the jaw to place the roots can all play a role in determining how successful the operation will be. Given good placement and healthy bone and gums, however, the application can have a success rate of 98%. When a patient implements good oral health care habits, the applications can often last for the rest of their life.
Insurance
Insurance companies tend to look at a range of option for any particular problem and only cover the least expensive choice. Dental implants are analogous to the much less expensive dentures, even though they are considerably better. For this reason, most insurance companies will not cover the cost of the operation. Some dentist offices will provide payment plans for patients who need it or can point the patient in the right direction to find a way to pay for their procedure.
Pain and Discomfort
Although one would think that drilling an artificial root into the jawbone would be a painful procedure, most patients report very little pain coming from the operation. In fact, most patients put the procedure below tooth extraction when it comes to relative discomfort. After anything intensive relating to oral health care, of course, there will probably be some mild soreness after the operation. Most dentists will recommend using over the counter pain relief medications to ease any discomfort felt after receiving dental implants.
Care
Dental implants do not require any special care for the most part. Patients are advised to continue (or begin) a good oral health care regimen that includes brushing, flossing, and mouthwash. Combining this with regular dentist visits will go a long way in preventing gum disease and stains.
