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Planning and Preparing for Dental Procedures: Your Questions Answered


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Planning and Preparing for Dental Procedures: Your Questions Answered

Making decisions about your smile can be confusing. Should you have a tooth pulled or get a root canal? Should you get adult braces or stick with a retainer? Should you use at-home whitening remedies or have your teeth professionally whitened? If questions like these are keeping you up at night, you've come to the right place. I used to stress out over routine dental procedures, and as a result, I did loads of research on everything dental-related. To help others, I'm using this blog as a place to collect, review and share what I've learned through the years. I hope you can use the information here to help you plan and prepare for your next dental appointment.

Three things to consider when choosing between a denture and a dental implant

If you have lost a tooth and your dentist has recommended that you have either a dental implant or a denture, there are a few things you should consider before making your decision. Read on to find out what these things are.

The length of the treatments process

Dental implants take longer to fit than dentures. After an impression has been taken by your dentist, the latter can be created and fitted in a matter of weeks.

Conversely, if you decide to opt for a dental implant, your dentist will need to insert an artificial tooth root inside the area where your real tooth root once was and leave it there for several months.

During this time, the artificial component will begin to fuse with the bone underneath it. Only after this fusion process is complete will your dentist be able to add the false tooth and complete the dental implant.

However, it's worth noting that your dentist should be able to provide you with a temporary crown during the fusion period; as such, whilst the entire treatment process will take quite a while to complete, you won't have to spend months living without a tooth.

Your personal preferences

Whilst as mentioned above, dentures can be made and fitted quite quickly, this type of dental device does present certain issues which you might not want to deal with on a daily basis.

Unlike a dental implant, which is permanently attached and as such, cannot be easily dislodged, dentures can sometimes 'pop out' of your mouth when you move your mouth muscles in a certain way or eat certain foods. This can be irritating and embarrassing, particularly if it occurs in public.

Dentures can also affect your speech; some people find that their dentures produce a clicking sound when they say specific words, for example. This is not a problem that ever arises with dental implants.

Your long-term oral health

If you want to maintain good oral health in the future, it might be worth investing your time and money into getting a dental implant fitted.

The reason for this is as follows; whilst dentures can be extremely effective at eliminating the chewing, digestive and aesthetic issues associated with a missing tooth, they cannot prevent the bone loss that usually occurs when a tooth is lost.

When you have a tooth removed, the bone directly underneath slowly begins to dissolve. This could have an impact on the shape of your face and the position of the rest of your teeth.

If you choose to have a dental implant fitted, you won't have to worry about developing this problem, as the artificial root of the implant will stimulate and place pressure on the bone underneath it which will, in turn, help to preserve the bone.