When a patient comes to our Royal Oak Michigan dental office with missing teeth, they are greeted by a number of experts in the field. It may be one of the most trying times in the patient’s life, but we have trained for this situation — and likely treated a similar problem before.

North Oaks Dental has multiple dentists ready to treat your smile problems. One of the ways we’re helping patients with missing teeth is with dental implants. Not every dental office can offer dental implants to replace missing teeth, and that’s important to know because they are the strongest tooth replacement option in dentistry. We offer traditional dental implants and mini dental implants (a service great for patients with jawbone recession who do not want go through additional bone grafting).

Today we want to run through some of the facts about missing teeth and dental implants. Missing teeth make it difficult to smile with confidence or eat the food you love. Here are some facts you need to know;

Gum disease is the number cause of tooth loss in adults

Gum disease claims more teeth than tooth decay or trauma. The infection generally starts small, with swollen or bleeding gums, but it can spread throughout the mouth with little to no warning. An untreated gum infection will cause the gum tissue AND jawbone to erode.

Tooth loss affects our country’s oldest population

It’s no secret that our oldest population is at the higher risk of tooth loss. In America, we have about 23 million people without any of their natural teeth, and about 26 percent of people 74 and older have no more natural teeth. Additionally, gum disease, the leading cause of tooth loss, will hit about 70 percent of people 65 and older.

Tooth loss causes jawbone recessions

When the teeth are lost, the jawbone will recede. This is perhaps the biggest consequence of tooth loss, because your face will actually change shape. People with jawbone recession see their nose and chin grow closer together, and patients start to have that “sunken in” look. All of these changes make you look much older than you are, and perhaps even worse, it’s hard to find a good fit for your removable appliances. That’s important to remember because about 90 percent of people in America with missing teeth rely on dentures.

Restoring Your Mouth With Dental Implants

When mentioned earlier that dental implants are a great way to replace your missing teeth. We dentists love using dental implants because they are fixed into the bone, so they become part of your body over time. Dental implants are made from titanium, a material that naturally joins with bone. Dental implants can be placed to replace single missing teeth or to stabilize dentures.

There is a lot more information out there about dental implants, but the one thing you need to know is that these dental implants are nearly as strong as your natural teeth. We can place dental implants with a 98 percent success rate, too. We often see patients who are struggling with tooth loss or simply hate their removable dentures. While denture technology has improved over the years (they are stronger and look better than ever), it’s hard to have function with removable dentures. Studies have found, and our removable denture patients can attest, that removable dentures only provide about 25 to 50 percent of the power of natural teeth. Obviously, that means denture wearers can’t eat many of the foods they could with natural teeth.

Fix Missing Teeth in Royal Oak Michigan

If you have missing teeth or terrible dentures, you don’t have to suffer any longer. North Oaks Dental is here to help you overcome your problems, feel better, and look better. So give us a call today at 248-712-1522.