How Having Your Tooth Replaced By A Dental Implant Can Benefit Your Oral Health And Your Wallet
If you have had a tooth extracted, you may be tempted to leave the resulting empty space in your mouth. After all, you will be able to save money, right? That is not necessarily the case in the long run. Having your tooth replaced by a dental implant can be beneficial to your health and to your wallet. Here is how:
Your Oral Health
Jaw Bone Density
The density of your jawbone is maintained by the renewal of bone cells. This renewal process is stimulated by the bite pressure that is transferred to the bone when you chew. However, when a tooth is extracted, the area of the bone at the extraction site no longer receives the stimulation needed to keep the jawbone from atrophying.
Since a dental implant is actually installed or planted into the jawbone, bone stimulation continues to promote a healthy bone density.
Dental Alignment
Each of your teeth helps keep the teeth adjacent to it in proper position. However, when a gap is present in your mouth, there is room for the remaining teeth to shift and move out of alignment. Braces may be needed to correct the misalignment, but as long as the empty space remains unfilled, the teeth still have room to move.
Appearance of Your Teeth
The dental implant also preserves the look of your smile. Once the implant is in place, the unseemly gap in your mouth is erased. The crown affixed to a dental implant can be matched to the color of your other teeth, so to observers, your smile looks as though there was never a missing tooth.
In addition, the area of your cheek or jaw that rests over the empty space will no longer appear hollow or sunken.
Your Wallet
A dental implant that is used to replace a single tooth may cost about $4,250 if it includes an abutment and a crown. However, the cost of braces, especially those that straighten your teeth discreetly, can be substantially higher. Ceramic braces cost between $4,000 and $8,000. Lingual braces are priced even higher at $8,000 to $10,000.
In addition, if you decide to procrastinate and receive a dental implant after your jawbone atrophies, you may have to spend more. The cost of a bone graft to correct improper jawbone density for a dental implant is added to the cost of the implant. The price is $200 to $1,300 for a simple bone graft that corrects a socket, but a complex bone graft, such as a sinus or block grafting, costs between $1,800 and $3,300.
If you are considering a dental implant to replace an extracted tooth, contact a dentist in your area for an appointment. Contact a dentist, such as Benjamin D Hull DDS, for more information.
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