Are Dental Implants Safe?
Posted on: 26 June 2018
Dental implants are one of many replacement options you have available to you when you lose more than one tooth. While most people have nothing but positive things to say about their dental implants, it's reasonable to be concerned about the long-term impacts of having implants. If you count yourself among them, read on to discover the three ways dental implants work with your body.
Titanium in the Body
Titanium is used to create the posts that dental implants (your replacement tooth) will sit upon. There are a couple reasons for this choice, but most importantly, it's because titanium is both strong and not rejected by the body.
Chances are you've heard of people receiving organ transplants and needing to take medication to prevent the body from rejecting them. This is true of many different foreign substances that are placed in the body, but titanium isn't one of them. The body doesn't reject titanium, nor is any medication required to tolerate it. This makes it a great choice for dental implants.
Porcelain
Porcelain is frequently used in all kinds of dental repairs, including crowns, fillings, and other types of missing tooth replacements, like bridges. While porcelain isn't bio-compatible like titanium is, there's no reason to worry about it.
In dental implants, porcelain is never actually placed inside the body -- that's the titanium post's job. Instead, the porcelain simply sits on top of your gums, anchored in place by the titanium post. You don't need to worry about porcelain getting into your body or bloodstream, and most porcelain teeth replacements last for a very long time without any damage or other problems.
Mimicking Natural Operations
Lastly, you may be surprised to learn that having a dental implant is actually better than going without a tooth replacement. Dental implants are manufactured to work in a very similar way to real teeth: a root below the tooth, and a tooth on top of the gums. While the titanium post is essentially an artificial root, it still performs some of the same tasks that you real tooth root once did. For example, it helps to distribute pressure, which can increase circulation in the gums and helps to keep your jaw bone strong. Bone density loss is a big problem for people who lose one or more teeth, so it's wise to get a dental implant as soon as you can to replace one or more missing teeth.
Dental implants are a great way of restoring form and function to your smile. The techniques and components of dental implants are safe and have been used by dentists for a long time to help people with missing teeth. With this new knowledge, you no longer have to worry about the safety of dental implants. Call your family dentist today to start the process of getting a dental implant to replace your missing tooth.
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