DENTAL IMPLANTS

Dentistry has always tried to replace missing teeth.

Historically, the methods for replacing missing teeth included plastic acrylics, gold, and porcelain materials. While these are still viable options, all of them rested on the gums or anchored to adjacent teeth, unlike natural teeth.

The greatest advancement in dentistry in the twentieth century was the use of synthetic roots to replace missing teeth, also known as ‘dental implants.'

A dental implant is an artificial root placed permanently in your jaw to hold a replacement tooth or bridge.

With the help of dental implants, we can fully remedy toothlessness, which strongly improves chewing and speaking abilities, as well as restore a beautiful smile. Implants also serve as carriers of a fixed dental bridge or denture.

Dental implants anchor back into the bone, just like natural teeth. What makes dental implants so great is they put the force back on the bone. This takes the pressure off the adjacent teeth and/or gums. When older methods are used, the neighboring teeth become overloaded and don’t last as long. By having the bone support the area with synthetic roots, the neighboring teeth last longer, which prevents future bone loss.

The roots of teeth stimulate bone within the jaws. When you lose a tooth, the jaw loses 25% of bone in the first year, and 40% in three years. Furthermore, plastic dentures resting on the gums speed up this rate of bone loss. The synthetic roots of dental implants are the only solution to stop this “osteoporosis-like” action in the mouth and stimulate the bone to keep it healthy.

Fortunately, even if someone loses a good amount of bone, we now have many advanced ways to grow new bone to help support synthetic roots. Also, plastic teeth are very uncomfortable. They slide around, and only have 25-50% the chewing ability of normal teeth. With synthetic roots, you have twice chewing strength of natural teeth. Also, because they are not removable, they psychologically feel like they are a part of you, versus a piece of plastic that comes in and out.

Dr. Kevin Kremer is one of only 2% of dentists nationwide certified by the prestigious LVI Dental Institute. LVI is the leading dental facility for advanced training in modern dentistry.

Dr. Kremer has also received Diplomate Certification from the International Dental Implant Association, the highest education certification program within the Association. IDIA Diplomates have met a minimum of 320 hours and placed over 100 implant procedures.