The Christmas lights have just been switched on in York, but are you ready for the parties of the festive season? Perhaps you’re not looking forward to them because you feel embarrassed about having a tooth missing? Having a smile you can be proud of has been linked to personal happiness  and doing well at work. Employer surveys often reveal that the subconscious mind will actively recruit those with a more attractive smile over their competitors. And when you have an office party to attend, both your progress at work and your personal happiness is at stake!

We can help improve the appearance of your smile (when you have a tooth missing) in order to give you more confidence in your appearance. We’ll do that by fitting you with a permanent replacement tooth; a tooth implant, here at our York dental practice. A tooth implant is a natural-looking prosthesis that will look and feel just like your original tooth.

Comprised of two parts, a tooth implant consists of the crown that sits on top of the gum in the mouth, looking to everyone else in the world as if it were a natural tooth. It is anchored onto the jawbone, using the implant itself, which acts as a root.

In order to place an implant, the gum must first be opened. When the implant in the correct position, the gum will be sealed again and left to heal. The healing process can take many months and will involve the implant fusing with the bone. This is what ensures your tooth implant won’t fall out or shift around in your mouth.

When one tooth implant isn’t enough

Plenty of people have lost more than one tooth; through decay, accident or injury, and when this happens, it’s much harder to hide the fact you have a gap in your teeth. It might seem logical that in order to replace missing teeth, you’d need a tooth implant in the place of each tooth, but in actual fact, the process of replacing more than one tooth in a row is a lot simpler and less invasive than you might expect.

A dental bridge is a bridge of artificial teeth in a row, which is held in place in your mouth with a tooth implant at either end. The crowns attached to the bridge will be bespoke and made with precision equipment; to match the teeth you lost. A full set of replacement teeth can be fixed permanently in place, in the mouth, using as few as 4-6 tooth implants, giving you teeth with which you can bite, chew and use for clear speech. Your dentist will show you how to take care of your bridges and clean carefully underneath them.

To find out more about the process of fitting tooth implants, please get in touch with us here at the Blossom Dental practice in York. Our experienced dentists have been fitting implants for many years and will be able to advise you on how long the procedure will take, as well as how you’ll look with your new teeth in place.