Dental implants provide a comfortable, long-lasting option if you're missing one or more teeth. Your dentist, Dr. Todd Brower of Ottawa Smiles Dental in Holland, MI, helps his patients care for their smiles with a variety of dental services, including dental implants—read on to learn more!

How dental implants restore your smile

Tooth loss doesn't just affect your appearance, but can also increase your risk of developing oral health problems. Once you lose a tooth, the nearby teeth react by slowly drifting toward the gap. Unfortunately, this can change your bite and also make brushing and flossing more difficult, due to overlapping teeth.

Your jawbone may also begin to shrink after tooth loss, particularly if you've lost several teeth. This problem occurs because the tooth roots are no longer there to stimulate the bone. As the jawbone bone shrinks during a process called resorption, teeth may loosen and even fall out. Resorption can also contribute to sagging in the muscles of your lower face.

Dental implants help you avoid these problems by restoring missing teeth from the roots up. After treatment, your new tooth will consist of:

• The Implant: Dental implants are placed directly in your jawbone to replace your natural roots. These screw-like implants are made of titanium, a metal that naturally bonds to your bone. The bonding process takes about three to six months and is a crucial part of the implant process.
• The Abutment: The abutment connects the dental implant to your dental crown. It is added to the implant after bonding is complete. During your abutment appointment, your Holland dentist will make an impression of your mouth to ensure that your new crown fits perfectly.
• The Crown: Crowns are artificial teeth designed that fill the noticeable gaps in your smile. Since your crowns are firmly attached to your implants, they won't slip or slide when you eat and feel very much like your natural teeth.

Your new implants will exert constant pressure on your jawbone in order to prevent resorption, the shifting of teeth, and facial sagging. Due to this amazing stability, your implants could very well last you for a lifetime.

Interested? Contact us today!

Are you ready to restore missing teeth with dental implants? Call our Holland, MI, office today at (616) 399-3600 to schedule your appointment!

Want to restore your smile, but want to avoid breaking your bank doing it? Well, Dr. Todd Brower in Holland, MI, has just the solution: dentures.

About Dentures

Dentures are oral appliances used by individuals who have lost some or all of their natural teeth due to tooth decay, gum disease, or injury. Dentures are usually made of plastic resin. There are both partial dentures and full dentures:

Partial Dentures

• Transitional Partial Dentures are placed in your mouth temporarily while your gums heal and before dental implants replace them.
• Removable Partial Dentures are used instead of dental implants and bridgework.

Full Dentures

• Immediate Dentures are used temporarily for when people are transitioning into denture wearing.
• Conventional Full Dentures are permanent dentures custom made to fit.
• Implant-Supported Overdentures use one or more dental implants to secure and support upper and lower dentures.

How to care for dentures?

When you get your dentures, it's important to know how best to take care of them.

Here are a few tips:

• Completely immerse your dentures in water when they're not in your mouth.
• Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and a non-invasive cleanser when cleaning your dentures, as recommended by The American Dental Association.
• While brushing your teeth, make sure your clean your cheeks, the roof of your mouth, gums, and tongue to avoid having an unpleasant breath or irritation.

Need a consultation?

For more information about dentures contact Ottawa Smiles Dental in Holland, MI. Call (616) 399-3600. It's time you take care of your dental health and improve your smile!

Missing teeth can do more damage than to just your ego. With bone loss, sagging facial muscles and moving teeth possible, it is important to both your oral and general health to fill in your gaps. With help from your Holland, MI dentist, Dr. Todd Brower at Ottawa Smiles Dental, you can learn what it takes to renew your smile with dentures.

Are there different kinds of dentures? 
Dentures come in several forms. Some of the most common dentures include:

• Immediate dentures: Immediate dentures benefit patients who require extractions before wearing their dentures. The molds used to make the dentures are taken before the extractions, allowing the denture to be prepared and ready to wear the day of the extraction. This saves the patient from having to go without teeth for a time while the dental laboratory customizes the dentures.
• Implant supported dentures: These dentures take advantage of dental implant technology. Small posts implanted into the bone below the gum line anchor the denture in place. Like other types of dentures, this style of denture is removable.
• Partial dentures: For patients who have one or more healthy natural teeth remaining, partial dentures use those teeth as anchors to hold the denture in place. The denture slides over the healthy teeth and fits around them.
• Complete dentures: Complete dentures benefit patients with no remaining natural teeth on either the top or bottom arch. For those patients missing all of their teeth, a set of complete dentures replaces both arches.

How do I know if dentures are right for me? 
When a tooth is missing, the bone underneath becomes less stimulated, resulting in bone loss. The gap left behind also causes the surrounding teeth to compensate for the missing tooth by moving into its spot. If you are missing more than one or two teeth, you would probably benefit from dentures, which prevent these things from happening. For patients missing only one or two teeth with many remaining healthy teeth, a bridge or single dental implant is a better option than dentures.

How are dentures made? 
Your Holland dentist begins the denture process by determining which style of denture is best for you. A mold of the teeth helps the dental laboratory design and create the denture itself. The dentures are color-matched to your surrounding teeth and designed to look as life-like as possible.

For more information on dentures, please contact Dr. Todd A. Brower, DDS at Ottawa Smiles Dental in Holland, MI. Call (616) 399-3600 to schedule your appointment today!