Dental implants are the standard of care for replacing missing teeth, and now insurance companies are covering the placement and restoration of implants. The investment required for dental implants continues to decrease as implant procedures become more routine and predictable. Implants are placed into the bone and they look and function just as your natural teeth would. Replacing missing teeth is very important, as missing even one tooth can put additional strain on your remaining teeth and puts them at greater risk. Here are just a few reasons to replace that missing tooth:

Your smile is so much more important than many people understand. It says a lot about you and helps display your personality. They say a smile is contagious as it projects joy to those around you. If your smile does not reflect that, other people may treat you differently or make incorrect assumptions about you. Dental implants are a great option to help restore your smile to its full potential.

Your occlusion (how your teeth fit together) is so important in maintaining a healthy bite. If even one tooth is missing your bite will begin to change. The adjacent teeth will start to shift into the open space. The teeth above the missing tooth may start to supra-erupt into the space created by the missing tooth. Dental implants prevent the collapse of your bite by restoring your occlusion to its full function.

If you are missing one or more teeth the remaining dentition is forced to support your bite with less tooth structure. Missing molars greatly reduce the surface area available for chewing and therefore greatly increase the strain on the remaining teeth, most notably the premolars. Premolars are single rooted teeth and not designed to carry the full load of occlusion. These teeth will breakdown much more quickly when other teeth are missing. Dental implants are the best at protecting your teeth because they support themselves and can help reduce the stress on your natural teeth.

Your teeth and the jawbone that supports them are the underlying structure of your face. As teeth get worn and lost, the jaw structure is also eroded. You might notice your face collapsing inward, and wrinkles developing around the mouth. Bone structure will continue to be lost without anything anchored in the bone. Dental implants are the only option to stop the erosion of your jaw bone. Anchoring implants in the bone signals to your body that the bone is in use and therefore it can be maintained.