Dental implants can be a fantastic option for many patients to restore not only the health of your mouth but also give a boost to their confidence. Our goal is to get our patients smiling wide once more. Dental implants are a long-term investment in your oral health and it’s important to ask questions about the implant’s durability.
Whether implants are as strong as regular teeth does depend on several factors. The dental implant itself is made of titanium, which is an extremely durable metal used in many other types of medical implants. While titanium itself is very unlikely to fail, your dentist will need to assess the strength of your jawbone to make sure you’re a good candidate for implants. Generally, the strength of an implant is close to or even stronger than natural teeth, but this does depend on the overall health of your jawbone. When you build a house, for example, you want to put the foundations on solid ground. Otherwise, even the most well built house will slide, tilt, and eventually fall over. The same is true for dental implants. Your jawbone is the foundation and your dentist will make sure your foundation is solid.
It’s also very important to listen to your dentist’s recommendations for the best ways to care for your implant(s) after the procedure. It’s typical for implants to last a lifetime, but this depends on how well the implant is cared for in the months and years following the procedure. You also want to make sure to follow guidance from your dentist regarding the foods you should and shouldn’t eat. Natural teeth have ligaments between the tooth and the bone to provide a kind of cushion when you eat something hard, like candy. Implants don’t have this same buffer and instead, the pressure from hard foods is put directly on the bone. With the right attention and care though, your implants can last many years without issue!
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