For people who have lost a permanent tooth, there are more options than ever before for a long-term replacement. In the past, removable dentures made noise or sometimes even fell out while eating, drinking or talking. But now, permanent dental implants mean there’s no need to worry about those inconveniences.
Dental implants are screws that anchor fabricated teeth to the jawbone. The anchor is made of titanium, which is similar to the material used to repair fractured bones.
“With a dental implant, the bone actually fuses to the titanium. The implant is most like a natural tooth in that it emerges from the gum and chews like a natural tooth,” said Lawrence Levin, DMD, MD, interim chair of the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Dental implants provide a variety of additional benefits to patients, including:
- Secure foundation
- Improved biting pressure
- Restored chewing ability
- Prevention of teeth shifting into areas where teeth are missing
- Improved speech
- Preservation of healthy teeth—no drilling required on surrounding teeth
- Provide an option for patients with problematic jaw or teeth structure
Penn Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery’s multidisciplinary group of experts in surgical and non-surgical treatment of diseases, disorders, injuries and esthetic aspects of the mouth, teeth, jaws and face provide dental implant services at multiple locations in the Philadelphia region, including Penn Medicine Radnor
*.
*A facility of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
