If we could bring someone from 100 years ago to today, they would be amazed at the ways technology has changed the world.
They would be stunned by the cars we drive, by our smartphones, and maybe even by our restorative dentistry.
When you think about it, it’s amazing how much dental implants have improved teeth replacement compared to traditional dentures. More importantly to us, it’s amazing how much implants have changed the lives of patients at our dentist office in New Albany, IN.
Seeing them smile or hearing about how implants have allowed them to eat the foods they love again makes our day.
This also is why we are happy that we can offer mini implants as well. Mini implants give us the opportunity to give more patients a better quality of life.
If you’ve been told you can’t get implants, please call New Albany Implants at (812) 945-7645 or contact us online. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Ron Receveur to find out if mini implants are right for you.
Mini Implants Are Real Dental Implants
If you need a dental crown, you can support it with a mini implant.
If you need a dental bridge to replace a few teeth, you can support it with a couple mini implants.
If you need a set of dentures to replace an entire row of teeth, a series of mini implants can do that, too.
Mini implants can do all the things that “full size” dental implants can. The question is: which kind of implants are right for you?
Implants And Your Jaw
The clearest benefit of getting implant-supported teeth replacements is the stability and security they provide. For example, you don’t have to worry about your dentures coming loose while you are eating when they are attached to dental implants.
Those benefits come from the fact that implants are placed directly in your jawbone. Your jaw bonds to these titanium implants almost as if they too were bone. This helps to keep them secure.
But the biggest benefit of dental implants may be something you can’t see.
When you had all your natural teeth, the roots of those teeth were anchored in your jaw. This was a two-way relationship. Your jaw keeps your teeth in place. At the same time, your teeth stimulated your jaw to encourage new bone tissue to grow.
Biting and chewing caused your roots to push into your jaw, which is what spurred the bone growth. This new tissue is needed to maintain your jaw’s size and shape as old tissue was reabsorbed.
Without roots, there is no stimulation. Therefore, no new bone tissue grows, and your jaw can begin to shrink.
By getting dental implants, you have another way to create the pressure that causes your jaw to keep making new tissue.
When Mini Implants Are A Better Option
We wish everyone could or would replace their missing teeth as soon as they are lost. We also know that’s not always an option for a variety of reasons.
The longer you go without replacing your teeth — your whole teeth, crowns and roots — the more bone tissue you will lose. If you lose too much, then you won’t have enough to support standard dental implants.
This also is when mini implants can be a smile-saver.
Standard implants have a diameter between 3.5 and 6 millimeters. Mini implants come in diameters of 1.8, 2.5, and 3 millimeters. This means they can fit where standard implants won’t.
Before mini implants, the only options were to live with traditional dentures and an ever-shrinking jaw or to get a bone graft procedure to rebuild your jaw. After months of recovery, you might then be able to support standard implants.
Mini implants allow you to get implants sooner, which means you can enjoy the benefits of having your new teeth and smile.
Find Out If Mini Implants Are Right For You
You are the final decision maker when it comes to your oral health. If you are missing teeth or you’ve been without natural teeth for a few years, you owe it to yourself to find out if dental implants are right for your needs.
Dental implants — including the mini implants at our New Albany, IN, dentist office — can give do more than restore your smile. They can restore your ability to eat the foods that you like and to eat without pain.
Talk to Dr. Receveur to find out if mini implants are for you. Call (812) 945-7645 or contact us online to make an appointment.