Dental Implants For Seniors
Dental implants are a safe and effective way to restore missing teeth for adult patients of any age! While there are age limitations for younger patients who have not yet reached skeletal maturity, any healthy adult that can tolerate implant placement surgery and the extensive healing time may be a good candidate for dental implants. Our oral health plays a crucial role in maintaining our overall health and nutrition. It is important for patients of any age to have a complete and functioning smile to help ensure confidence and enable them to enjoy the foods they love for the rest of their life!
What are dental implants?
Dental implants are a dental prosthesis that can be used to replace a single tooth or multiple missing teeth, even all the teeth on both arches. Your dentist will work with a specialist for your implant placement. An oral surgeon or a periodontist will be the doctor to place your implants. Dental implants are titanium posts that are surgically implanted directly into the jaw bone to serve as the root of the tooth. The doctor will make a small incision in the gum tissue and drill a hole into your phone to place the implant. During the healing period, the implant will integrate with your jaw bone to form a secure foundation for your dental prosthesis. After your implant has healed and fully integrated, your dentist will restore the implant with an individual implant crown, an implant bridge, or an implant supported denture.
Dental Implants for Seniors
Dental implants are an incredibly natural looking way for patients to restore the function and appearance of their smile and gives them comfort and confidence for eating and speaking. Patients that opt for traditional restorations such as traditional dentures or dental bridges will not have the added benefit of support that dental implants offer. Since dental implants are placed directly into the jawbone, they help stimulate bone regeneration and prevent deterioration which in the case of a traditional bridge or denture, can cause the prosthesis to become ill-fitting and uncomfortable and need to be replaced.
Traditional options may be less costly at the start but overtime, they will need to be replaced every 5-10 years whereas an implant-supported prosthesis has the ability to last a lifetime with proper care and maintenance. Let’s take a quick look at some other advantages for a patient to consider dental implants, regardless of their age!
Nutrition
Patients that are missing teeth may have a difficult time enjoying some of their favorite foods and getting proper nutrition. Restoring your smile with dental implants allows patients the ability to eat a larger variety of foods which can lead to an overall improvement in health and energy level. Being able to properly chew your food also helps aid in the digestive process. Malnutrition can cause all sorts of problems so having the ability to enjoy a healthy diet will improve your overall health!
Maintenance
Caring for a traditional denture can be a bit of a hassle. They have to be removed for cleaning and soaking overnight but dental implants are permanently fixed in place and are easily cared for just like natural teeth.
Comfort and Confidence
A traditional denture or other dental prosthesis is not always the best fit. They can slip around as you chew and speak and often become ill-fitting over time as bone structure begins to deteriorate. Dental implants are incredibly natural-looking and since they are permanently fixed in place, are considerably more comfortable and cannot slip.
Cost Effective
Unlike traditional dentures and other dental processes, dental implants are a lifetime investment and even though they are more expensive initially, they have the ability to last a lifetime with proper care and maintenance and may never need to be replaced. Other dental prosthesis will need to be replaced every 5 to 10 years.