Xerostomia: Replace Your Missing Teeth With Dental Implants
If you suffer from tooth loss, tooth decay, and mouth sores because of xerostomia, you may wonder if you can do something about all of your dental problems soon. Xerostomia, or chronic dry mouth, can cause many oral health problems over time. However, you may be able to protect your oral health from xerostomia with dental implants. Learn more about xerostomia and how dental implants may keep your mouth safe from it below.
How Does Xerostomia Affect Your Oral Health?
Although xerostomia is fairly common in people today, the condition can wreak havoc on the mouth's hard and soft tissues. Xerostomia develops when your salivary glands don't make enough saliva to moisten your mouth. Saliva removes debris from the mouth, including plaque and germs. A lack of saliva can cause rampant tooth decay, gum disease, and eventual tooth loss.
Tooth loss can change the structure and shape of your face over time. Teeth stimulate the bones throughout your face and jaw to grow. When you lose teeth anywhere in your mouth, your bones lose some of their ability to grow and regenerate.
People who lose teeth to xerostomia can overcome their situation with dental implants. The artificial materials used to create dental implants and their crowns don't require saliva to function. In most cases, dental implants can improve the quality of your appearance and oral health over time.
If dental implants seem like the best way to improve your oral health, consult a dentist for more details and treatment today.
How Do You Get the Implants You Need?
A dentist will schedule a number of appointments for you. The appointments allow a provider to examine the bone structure in your face and jaw to see if your tooth loss caused serious problems for it. Long time tooth loss can degrade the bone tissue in your face and jaw. A dentist may need to slowly rebuild your face and jawbone to accommodate your new implants.
If the bones in your face and jaw look healthy, a dentist will discuss the different types of dental implants you can receive to replace your teeth. Depending on the location of your missing teeth, you may be a candidate for endosteal implants, subperiosteal implants, or a combination of both implants. Dentists place endosteal implants inside the jawbone and subperiosteal above or on top the jawbone. A provider will examine your mouth to see where each type of implant will benefit the most.
A dentist will cover your implants with tooth-like crowns after they heal. The crowns won't discolor or dry out from your lack of saliva. However, you must brush your teeth as you normally would to keep your gums healthy and free from infection and disease.
Learn more about dental implants by contacting a dentist for a consultation today.
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