Restore Your Smile’s Natural Appearance and Functionality with Dental Implants

If you’re missing one or more teeth, you might wonder if there’s a restorative dentistry option that provides more natural results than traditional partials or dentures. The good the news is, yes, there is–it’s called dental implants.

As with traditional tooth replacement options, dental implants make speaking and eating easier by filling in the gaps in your smile. But unlike those methods, dental implants don’t rely on clasps, suction, or denture adhesive. Instead, they use small metal screws surgically placed in the jaw to anchor a new crown, bridge, partial, or full denture.

Once in place, these metal screws act like prosthetic roots. Just like natural roots, they contribute to a strong, stable bite, in addition to promoting bone growth in the jaw. Without roots of any kind, your jaw will weaken, to the point that you could lose any remaining teeth you have. Your implants will help you replace what you’ve lost and preserve your jaw going forward.

Not every patient is a candidate for dental implants, though. During a visit to Dr. Michael Scurti’s Verona dental office, we can assess your oral health and the strength of your jaw. If you have enough bone density, you may be an excellent candidate for the implant procedure. If not, it may be possible to become one through a few extra techniques.

Do you want to make 2014 the year you restore your smile’s natural appearance and functionality? Call us now to schedule a consultation with Dr. Scurti for this month or early in January. We serve patients from Verona, West Orange, Livingston, Clifton, and surrounding New Jersey towns.

Strengthen and Restore Your Smile with Dental Implants

In an earlier post we talked about the history of dental implants. Today we’d like to talk about how dental implants work and why they’re such an effective restorative dental service.

Dental implants are used to replace one or more of a patient’s missing teeth and are structured in a way similar to the patient’s natural smile, with a crown on top and an implant post underneath. These implant posts acts like prosthetic roots, providing patients with restorative care that mimics nature.

But replacing your missing roots with dental implants isn’t just about shoring up a new crown, bridge, or denture. Your tooth roots also stimulate bone growth in the jaw. Throughout your life, new bone tissue replaces old bone tissue, keeping your jaw strong. When you lose a root, though, a part of your jaw no longer has anything there to stimulate new bone tissue. As a result, that part of your jaw will begin to weaken as bone is lost. Over time, nearby teeth may be lost as a result as well. Dental implants are designed to replace missing teeth but also strengthen the jaw and prevent bone loss.

Unfortunately, not every patient is a good candidate for dental implants. If you’d like to know if they’re right for you, visit Dr. Michael Scurti at Verona Dental Arts. During a consultation appointment, Dr. Scurti will thoroughly assess your health and your needs. If your jaw is strong enough to support one or more implants, we’ll start planning your implant procedure right away. If dental implants aren’t right for you, we’re happy to recommend another treatment option. Dr. Scurti is committed to creating healthy, beautiful smiles through a variety of today’s best general, cosmetic, and restorative services.

Call Verona Dental Arts today to see how we can help. We serve patients from Verona, West Orange, Livingston, Clifton, and surrounding New Jersey towns.

A History of Dental Implants

Among all the restorative services available to patients today, dental implants are among the most effective. With dental implants, Dr. Michael Scurti can help patients from Verona and beyond replace one or more missing teeth.

But did you know this seemingly “modern” solution is actually not as modern as you may think?  Implants as we think of them today go back to at least 1965, when Swedish surgeon Per-Ingvar Brånemark learned that titanium and bone could fuse together, creating a bond similar to the bond shared by the jaw and a natural tooth root.

Historical evidence shows that people have been using similar materials to replace teeth for many, many years, though. The oldest piece of evidence comes from Honduras and is a 1,300-year-old mandible with shells used as replacement teeth. It also appears that the Egyptians and the Romans had methods of their own for replacing teeth, sometimes with gold wires and sometimes with cast-iron. So if you have any hesitation about how dental implants work, you can rest assured knowing that similar techniques have been used all throughout history.

Do you have missing teeth? Find out how dental implants may be able to help. Call Verona Dental Arts today to schedule an appointment. We serve patients from Verona, West Orange, Livingston, Clifton, and surrounding New Jersey towns.