Can Dental Implants Damage Other Teeth?

When you have lost your natural teeth, it can be hard to share your smile with the world. It feels like the missing tooth draws attention in the wrong places. Fortunately, dental restorations can help you replace your lost teeth. Better yet, with dental implants, you have a permanent solution to tooth loss.

What Are Dental Implants?

They are titanium metal posts that replace tooth roots. Such an intricate procedure cannot be administered in general dentistry in Stockton, CA. Although your dentist will examine and evaluate your oral health in general dentistry near you, you will need an oral surgeon to receive implants.

One of the main differences between dental implants and other oral replacement alternatives in dentistry is the need for surgery. Only through surgery can the tooth implants be installed, securing them in the jawbone of your oral cavity.

After the implantation surgery, you need a few weeks to heal before the remaining part of your treatment can commence. Later, your dentist in Stockton, CA, will attach a dental crown, dental bridge, or denture over the implant. The choice of crowning for your implants depends on the number of dental implants you have in your mouth relative to the missing natural teeth.

Do Dental Implants Compromise the Health of Your Natural Teeth?

Having a foreign object in your mouth can raise concerns regarding the safety of the rest of your natural teeth. When you receive an implant, understand that the metal post will not be visible when you smile. The whole point for crowning the implant is to cover the metal post and realize a natural-looking result. In that case, your concern over the implants damaging your remaining teeth has nothing to do with the titanium metal post. If anything, the erection of a metal post in your jawbone combats tooth loss by preventing bone tissue degeneration. Without teeth, your jawbone remains inactive, allowing for a process of degeneration. Installing dental implants facilitates bone tissue regeneration to support the implants and reinforce stability for the adjacent teeth.

What Problems Can Occur After Dental Implant Surgery?

Even though dental implants benefit your oral health in various aspects, some complications can occur after dental implant surgery. Some complications likely to happen after dental implant surgery are:

1. Infection – although implantations surgeries at Valley View Dental – Stockton have a high success rate, you can still get an infection in the surgical wound. Infections are common for patients with poor oral hygiene after surgery. Neglecting teeth brushing and flossing allows food residues and bacteria to accumulate in your mouth, causing a dental infection. Another factor that may heighten the risk of infection on your implant wound is smoking.
2. A loose implant – the process of healing after an implant surgery should last about three months. The period allows the titanium metal post to integrate with your natural bone tissue. However, some patients may experience osseointegration, a condition where the jawbone does not fuse with the metal post as it should. If this happens to you, contact your surgeon immediately. (S)he may have to remove the implant and allow your mouth to heal before retrying the implantation procedure.
3. Nerve damage – it rarely is a complication for patients. Nerve damage can occur if your oral surgeon places the implant too close to a nerve in your jawbone. If this is the case, you will experience some symptoms like numbness, tingling, or pain in your implant wound, even after it heals. Be keen to notice such symptoms, especially because the numbness could spread to other parts of your mouth, including the upper or lower lips.
4. Peri-implantitis – is an inflammation at the site of the implant wound that persists long enough to become a chronic issue. When the inflammation persists, it results in bone tissue loss around the area of the tooth implant. Bone loss may compromise the stability of the tooth implant over the years.
5. Sinus issues – is typical for dental implants of the upper jaw. If the oral surgeon places the implant too far up, it can protrude into the sinus cavities and cause inflammation. When this happens, you are likely to suffer from recurrent sinusitis.