Texoma Living Well Magazine Summer 2015 | Page 27

Dental Implants are Truly the Next Best Thing to Your Natural Teeth! I By John Shoemaker, DDS, DICOI magine biting into a thick juicy steak, nuts, or an apple and being able to smile without worrying about your dentures coming loose! Dental implants can make this possible for you! Unlike dentures or partials, implant teeth can feel like a permanent part of your mouth. Now you can put an end to the embarrassment, inconvenience and ill-fitting dentures or partials. Even if you have missing or loose teeth, dental implants can solve your dental problems. Dental implants have many advantages as a supported restoration compared to conventional bridges or dentures. Dentures or partial dentures that sit on top of the gum can wear down the underlying bone over time, affecting the fit and function of the denture. Natural teeth and the supporting bone are designed to work together so that chewing forces are distributed evenly through the bone instead of Karen says, “After my fixed implant bridge I am able to eat anything I want, even tacos! I smile all the time, am able to speak clearly again and am no longer self conscious. Choosing Dr. Shoemaker as my dentist and having implants placed was the right decision for me.” Gene says, “Since seeing Dr. Shoemaker, I can eat corn on the cob, and apples; really anything I want. Thanks to Dr. Shoemaker’s expertise, experience, and my implants, I smile more often and am enjoying a new self confidence!” Lee says, “I received excellent care during and after my treatment. I could not have asked for any better concern pressing down on it. The dental implant does what a natural tooth root would do, and channels functional pressures into the bone. Implants help improve and maintain healthy bone. Our bones stay strong by being used. By distributing biting forces through the bone, dental implants stimulate the body’s production of bone marrow, improving the quality and amount of bone. This means a better support for chewing and speaking, and a more natural-looking result. Implants allow crowns, bridges, and dentures to function more like natural teeth. With today’s technologies and techniques, your restoration will look and function just like your natural teeth woul