If you’ve lost one or more teeth, or you’re facing the loss of a tooth, dental implants are the best solution. They are so much like natural teeth that it’s almost like you never lost it at all. Dental implants look just like natural teeth. And you can eat all the foods you enjoy with natural teeth. Plus, they just require the same care as natural teeth: brush, floss, and see us for regular checkups. And they can last a lifetime. It’s like getting a whole new start with a brand new tooth.

Are you looking to replace one or more missing teeth? Implant dentist Dr. Karthilde Appolon helps patients in midtown Manhattan to make their smile whole again. Please call (212) 557-8668 today for an appointment at Appolon Dental Group in Columbus Circle.

Older woman with great teeth from dental implants

Benefits of Dental Implants

Dental implants are often the best tooth replacement option for people. They are the best because they:

  • Look like natural teeth
  • Function like natural teeth–you eat and speak normally
  • Are secure in the mouth–they won’t come out
  • Require only brushing and flossing
  • Can last a lifetime with proper care
Dental implants are so much like natural teeth that it becomes easy to think of them as just your new tooth. They won’t feel like restorations. They’ll feel like part of you.

How Dental Implants Work

How can dental implants be so much like natural teeth? That’s simple: they are structured like natural teeth. Your natural tooth has a root that bonds to your jawbone via a periodontal ligament, and a crown that is the white, beautiful tooth that’s visible and does the chewing.

Implants have the same structure. They are made of the implant itself, which plays the role of the dental root by bonding directly to the jawbone, and a dental crown. The dental crown plays the role of the visible part of the tooth, looking just like natural tooth.

Say Goodbye to Loose Dentures

In the past, dentures were the only common method to replace lost teeth. They can look somewhat natural (although they often don’t), but they can’t function like natural teeth. They’re not secured in the jawbone like natural teeth, so they slip around in the mouth and can’t bite down with the same force.

Dental implants allow us to secure dentures in your mouth so they function like natural teeth. Sometimes, we can modify your existing dentures to work as implant dentures. Other times, we’ll recommend a comprehensive implant denture system like All-on-4.

Am I a Candidate for Dental Implants?

Another benefit of dental implants is that most people are candidates for the procedure. There are only three requirements for a candidate. You must be:

  • Missing one or more teeth
  • An adult whose jaw has stopped growing
  • In good enough health for surgery

If you meet those requirements, you can get dental implants. There are some other factors we might consider that can impact the success of the procedure or may require additional treatments or time.

If you’re a smoker, you’ll have to quit smoking during the healing process for your implants, and it’s best if you quit smoking altogether. Smokers have a lower success rate.

People with gum disease may have to wait to get their gum disease treated before they get dental implants.

People without enough bone in the implant sites may need to have a separate bone graft procedure before they can get implants. Of course, All-on-4 is designed to work around low bone volume, and can help many people get implants without grafts.

Can Implants Really Last a Lifetime?

In dentistry, we usually talk about restorations as being “long-lasting,” because little that we can do will last forever. But with dental implants, they really can last a lifetime. Here’s what we mean.

The first person to get implants had his for more than 40 years before he passed away of unrelated causes. The second person to get dental implants still has them, more than 50 years after getting them placed. Long-term studies (30 years and more) have not identified a product lifetime where implants begin to fail in large numbers.

Taking all this together, and it’s clear that implants can potentially last you a lifetime with proper care.

Schedule Your Appointment Today

If you are looking to replace one or more missing teeth in midtown Manhattan, please call 212-557-8668 today for an appointment with implant dentist Dr. Karthilde Appolon at Appolon Dental Group in Columbus Circle.