Bedford dental implants last a lifetime

Dissatisfied with your current tooth replacements? Yes, while they span smile gaps and help you chew and smile normally, traditional bridgework and dentures have problems of slippage, sore oral tissues, and gum and bone recession. Plus, they need replacement after about 10 years.

What’s the alternative for people missing teeth? Dental implants replace one or more teeth as today’s most stable and natural-looking and feeling prosthetic teeth. Plus, unlike traditional prosthetics, titanium dental implants in Bedford, last for decades.

How the Bedford dental implant works

At Maegan Elam, DDS & Associates, Dr. Maegan Elam cosmetic, restorative, and implant dentist offer innovative dental implants to patients who have lost teeth to decay, gum disease, or injury. To qualify, an individual must be in good oral and systemic health, have sufficient jawbone to support the implant, and preferably, be a non-smoker.

Dr. Elam and the team evaluate their prospective implant patients, and if qualified, refer the individual to a trusted oral surgeon in the area for in-office placement of a titanium implant device. Screw-like, durable and biocompatible, the implant resides in the jaw, and after some weeks of healing, he or she receives a customized abutment post and porcelain crown to complete the artificial tooth.

A natural process called osseointegration provides the dental implant its stability. Titanium and human bone have an amazing affinity for each other, and through it, the implant actually strengthens the jaw bone. This stability and strength account for the dental implant’s 95 percent success and long-term retention rate.

So versatile, dental implants anchor fixed, multi-tooth bridgework and full dentures. In fact, Maegan Elam, DDS & Associates features inventive All-on-4 dentures. Supported by 4, or sometimes 6, state of the art titanium implants, these dentures are placed the day of implant surgery; so, they are often called “teeth in a day.”

Longevity and care

Whatever number of dental implants you receive, count on them to last. For individuals over 45, they are likely be lifetime prosthetics. While the crowns or dentures placed on implants may eventually wear out, the devices themselves remain in place for decades, according to the American Academy of Implant Dentistry.

Key to implant longevity, say your Bedford implant dentists, is good oral hygiene. Careful at-home practices avoid implant failure due to an infection called peri-implantitis. Very similar to periodontitis, or advanced gum disease, peri-implantitis involves:

• Red, swollen, pus-filled gums
• Gum recession
• Bone deterioration
• Implant loosening and failure

As always, cessation of smoking and chewing tobacco avoids these deleterious complications.

Dr. Elam advises her implant patients to:

• Brush twice a day and floss daily to remove plaque and tartar
• Use a non-abrasive, fluoride toothpaste
• Drink plenty of water daily
• Employ interdental brushes to clean around implant abutments and stimulate the gum tissue
• Get routine 6-month exams and professional cleanings at Maegan Elam, DDS & Associates

Enjoy great implant stability

With due diligence, your dental implants should be the only tooth replacements you’ll need. For a personal restorative dentistry consultation, contact the office team at Maegan Elam, DDS & Associates.

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