This article describes the great many ways teeth can become irreparably damaged and/or go missing. It then proceeds to describe how dental implants work to restore oral functionality and aesthetics.

Houston Dental Implants: How Teeth Go Missing

Houston dental implants constitute the best answer modern dental science has to offer patients of all ages that present with single or multiple missing teeth. Teeth can go missing for a number of reasons (that have absolutely nothing to do with the tooth fairy either). Poor oral hygiene, smoking, eating foods that are high in sugar, serious and chronic illnesses (cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS) and avoiding your appointments with the dentist can all lead to a deplorable state of oral health, which, amongst the undesirable symptoms are bad breath, gum inflammation, tooth decay and bone deterioration, can also lead to tooth loss. Approximately 26% of you reading this will be familiar with periodontal disease (bacterial infection of the gums) and the terrible things it can do to your teeth, gums and jaw if left untreated…

But what about those that are rigorous in their oral hygiene routine? You may brush three times a day, floss every evening, chew sugar-free gum with Xylitol, gargle mouthwash and visit the dentist every six months… but it just takes just one unfortunate accident for one of your perfectly healthy pearly whites to become irreparably cracked or dislodged and need replacement. Trauma to the mouth can result from something as serious as a car accident or as innocuous as biting into an olive pit. Houston dental implants specialists have also seen their fair share of people who have dived headfirst into a pool only to comb the concrete bottom of it with their teeth! So, from silly to serious accidents, poor lifelong oral hygiene and the unfortunate contraction or development of chronic and serious illnesses; our adult teeth can and DO fall out due to a myriad of causes. Thankfully, they can be replaced with Houston dental implants, which are virtually indistinguishable – in aesthetics and function – from healthy and natural teeth.

Houston Dental Implants: What They Are and How They Work

Houston dental implants are self-supporting artificial teeth that look, work and feel exactly like normal and healthy teeth. They essentially consist of three parts:

• Base Implant screw: This is the part of the Houston dental implant that fits in the socket left bare by the missing tooth. Because it is made from titanium metal, which is incredibly strong, non-corrosive and forms a strong biological bond with the bone, it provides anchorage, stability and strength to the entire replacement structure.

• Abutment: Extending a fraction above the gum line and attached to the base implant screw, the abutment is the protrusion to which the artificial crown is attached.

• Artificial Crown: The artificial crown is the visible part of the Houston dental implant. They are made from ceramic material to function like and exactly resemble a normal and healthy tooth.

Houston Dental Implants: Smile Restoration

The benefits of Houston dental implants are not only the restoration of functionality – because intuitively a missing tooth poses all sorts of problems when it comes to eating and speaking – but they are also fundamental in the reparation of a broken smile, which equates to a much better self-esteem!