Why dental implants are no cause for worry
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This story is brought to you by Facial & Oral Surgery Associates, Pocatello’s first choice for dental implants, wisdom tooth removal, tooth extraction and TMJ treatment.Did you know 52 percent of adults in America are missing at least one of their permanent teeth?
That means roughly 167 million people are likely walking around with painful gums, self-conscious about the gaps in their mouth.
But now there’s another reason to smile, according to new research from Columbia University.
First, some background.
For the past two decades, the closest dentists have come to replacing teeth are dental implants.
Local doctors Mark Baker, DDS and Shawn Jepsen, DMD at Facial & Oral Surgery Associates explain, “Dental implants are the standard of care for replacing missing teeth and have a 98 percent success rate.”
Why replace the teeth in the first place?
“Dental implants preserve bone,” Jepsen says.
If the bone starts to deteriorate, it can lead to the loss of surrounding teeth and eventually the jawbone all together, causing a host of other issues.
What is an implant?
An implant is a manmade root, and eventually a manmade tooth, placed into the space where a tooth once was.
You visit an oral surgeon, who first places the implant.
After it is placed, you wait for the site to heal and for the implant to secure into the jaw.
Then an abutment, or connector, is placed and finally the crown finishes it up.
The process normally takes about six to eight months.
Find out more about implants here.
New developments
Researchers at Columbia University suggest it could take as little as two months to regenerate an actual tooth using a 3-D scaffold infused with growth factor. In simpler terms, a tooth mold full of stem cells could eventually grow a new tooth.
Patents have been filed for the new technology, but the research still must go through clinical trials, which have not yet begun and still have no date set to begin.
Until the procedure is tested and approved for use, when you need to replace a tooth, implants are still the best available choice. A visit with an oral surgeon can determine if implants would be a good option for you.