ARE METAL DENTAL IMPLANTS IN SARASOTA SAFE?
If you want to take care of your body, you watch what you eat. You make sure that the substances coming in are safe and will help your body function. The same applies to how you approach your tooth replacement. You want to make sure that it won’t cause any ill effects while it restores your smile’s strength and health. Perhaps you think that means that you need to get a metal-free tooth restoration. Well, the truth is that if you’re missing one or more teeth and you want to replace them, every solution available contains some amount of metal. But there’s one solution that surpasses the rest in terms of health—dental implants in Sarasota. Keep reading to learn more about this safe, effective restoration option.
What are dental implants?
A dental implant is a titanium screw or post that is surgically placed into the gums. Over the course of a few months, it stimulates the jaw bone, causing it to grow and surround the post. Then an abutment and prosthetic are positioned on top. Although this option is the most invasive, it is one of the most advanced choices available for replacing a missing tooth.
Are dental implants safe?
Some people think that if something is metal it automatically means that it doesn’t belong in the body or that it can cause harm. However, titanium alloy is biocompatible, which means that it can exist with living matter and not cause toxicity or a systemic rejection. Because of this property, this material is used effectively for many implants, including hip and knee replacements in addition to dental implants. An allergy to titanium is extremely rare, and over 95 percent of dental implant surgeries are successful.
How could dental implants be beneficial?
Not only are dental implants perfectly safe, they actually help promote your oral health in the long run. When you have a tooth extracted, your jaw bone can slowly lose density, potentially leading to further tooth loss in the future. Compared to dentures and bridges, which only replace the tooth above the gum line, dental implants fully restore a missing tooth from the bottom up. The post mimics the tooth’s root and structure, causing the jaw bone to remain stimulated over time. This, in turn, protects the remaining healthy teeth.
In addition to better oral health, dental implants provide the following benefits:
- They are very durable. Because they are firmly anchored in the jaw bone, they are sturdy and can withstand normal wear and tear.
- They can last a long time. Unlike dentures and dental bridges, which need to be replaced every 5 to 10 years respectively, with the proper maintenance, implants can last for 30 years or even longer!
In the end, there is no such thing as a metal-free restoration at this time, and nothing can truly replace everything that you get from a natural tooth. However, dental implants provide a safe way to fully replace your tooth and restore its strength and function for the long term. For more information about dental implants, contact your implant dentist in Sarasota.
About the author
At Tarpon Shores Dental, Dr. Shanaka Weerasooriya achieved Mastery Level status in both restorative and cosmetic dentistry from Dr. Frank Spear at the Seattle Institute for Advanced Dental Education (now the Spear Institute). He also graduated from the prestigious Misch International Implant Institute, where he received training for surgically placing dental implants. To contact him for an appointment, you may call (941) 256-7559.