Whether you’ve recently lost a tooth or searching for replacement teeth solutions for a while, you might be considering dental implants.
When considering this dental procedure, you might be wondering if dental implants look like real natural teeth. While you may be looking to fill a gap where your tooth once was, understandably, you won’t want to be left feeling exposed and self-conscious, wondering if others can notice your dental implant. The answer? Dental implants can look natural but with a particular set of conditions. Read on to find out how to ensure your dental implant(s) look like your natural teeth so you can restore your smile and feel confident once again.
Experienced and Natural-Looking Dental Implants At Our Calgary Clinic
Are you or a loved one living with tooth loss? Are you on the fence about getting complete dentures or not sure what options are available? At Future Smiles Dental Clinic, we thrive on giving our clients their smiles back.
Wading into the world of dentures can be an overwhelming experience. With partial, complete, or implant-supported dentures to choose from, knowing which type best fits your unique circumstances can take a bit of research and time.
At our NE and SW Calgary-based clinics, we offer a wide range of denture services and thrive on giving our clients their smiles back. While it’s always best to discuss your options with a denture professional, If you’re a good candidate for dental implants, they can have many benefits from enhancing your smile to even helping you live longer by improving your quality of life.
3 Crucial Steps To Make A Dental Implant Look Natural
Only Trust Your Smile To Experienced Hands
The first, and most important step to ensure your dental implant is convincing, is to seek out an experienced dentist. When performing a search on Google for “dental implants near me,” make sure you don’t follow the first link blindly. Take your time and read reviews, book a consultation and do your research. While all dentists must perform at a certain standardized level, some have more experience in certain dentistry areas than others. When it comes to an experienced dentist, look for these criteria:
- Good reviews (and appropriate response to bad reviews)
- Showcasing of previous work
- Locally recognized license and practice (avoid going abroad for cheap dental work!)
The reason we say experience in dental implants is so important is that an experienced dentist knows how to work with an individual’s unique teeth and gums to ensure a new dental implant is shaped and fitted to blend and match. They have worked on many clients to assess their gums and surrounding teeth structure and to create a natural-looking tooth that is able to camouflage with the rest of your smile, although your beautiful full set of teeth will certainly stand out.
Worth noting is the risk of outsourcing when it comes to dentistry. While the price tag may be more accessible abroad, this is a temporary cost that will lead to more expensive repairs and complications later. Many dentists will be hesitant to fix poorly done implants and will not be covered by insurance. Dental implants can be costly, but getting them done correctly can last for decades without complications or significant repairs needed. If you need dentures or denture implants but not sure how to afford them, ask your denturist about flexible payment options or if they offer direct billing to your insurance so you will not have to pay out of pocket up front.
Customizing your Dental Implant
A clinic specializing in dentures will have the tools available to create and match your dental implant to look as natural as possible. During your dental implant assessment, make sure to ask about all the options available such as which material types are available, which would suit you best, and what steps the clinic takes to ensure a natural look and feel.
A well-fitting and natural-looking implant should:
- Be shade-matched to your neighbouring teeth
- Be inserted far enough into the gums for a seamless transition
- Be custom shaped and sized to fill the space of your missing teeth and gums while mirroring the size and shape of natural teeth
The Sooner, the Better, When it Comes to Denture Implants
When we lose a tooth or multiple teeth, the gums and bone surrounding the tooth gradually shrink down as they are no longer gripping the tooth. Like a sandcastle that becomes washed away slowly by the waves, the peaks of your gums will slowly shrink down and smooth into the rounded base of your gum. If the bone is lost, these gums may not grow back the same to fill the spaces between your old teeth and the dental implant. Your denture will sit on top, but it may require skill and artfulness to rework the gum to encapsulate that tooth root in the same way the gum climbs your other teeth. An experienced denturist will be able to mimic this quite well, although not always. The sooner a tooth is replaced, the easier and more natural it will be.
Get a Personalized Assessment for Dental Implants
While research and education are a significant step to address some of your preliminary concerns, there is only so much you can glean from a google search or even the best articles on denture implants. To get a complete picture of your individual needs and what options are available to customize your denture implants, why not book a consultation to put some of your questions to bed. Again, the most crucial step is to ensure you’re entrusting your dental care to an experienced dentist. They will be able to answer any questions about how your dental implants can be made to fit and match your natural teeth. Remember, the sooner, the better. Your initial surgery will take 3-6 months to heal before the tooth can be fitted, so you might as well jumpstart your timeline by booking a consultation sooner than later and protecting precious bone and gum to ensure a natural look later.
FAQ's
What Are The Negatives of Dental Implants?
Aside from the minor side effects of the procedure, such as mild pain and swelling, dental implants tend to be an expensive procedure, although they do last for decades.
How Much Do Dental Implants Cost?
Dental implants range from $900 to $5000 per tooth without insurance. A full mouth can cost up to $100,000.
How Strong are Dental Implants Compared to Natural Teeth?
Dental implants can improve the strength of your bite dramatically, to nearly 100%. The strength of the tooth itself varies depending on the material. although ceramic is sometimes preferred for the lighter colour, porcelain is much more durable and comparable to a natural tooth.