Why
Dental Implants?

If you’ve ever lost a tooth, chances are you’ve never fully become accustomed to that empty spot in your mouth. It compromises functionality, normal mouth feel, the way you feel about your smile, and even the overall health of your remaining teeth and jaw. This is why Dr. I. Stephen Brown recommends to everyone living with a single missing tooth or a full arch of missing teeth to consider dental implants.

Missing teeth and oral health

Even if you feel you can live with a gap in your smile and compensate for the loss of chewing function, a missing tooth can have progressively negative effects on the health of your entire mouth. This is because healthy teeth will move to fill that gap while healthy bone tissue deteriorates over time. This process will continue until serious problems occur including:

• Misaligning of adjacent teeth
• Opposing teeth can erupt down into the open space
• Significant loss of bone mass
• Eventual loss of multiple teeth

Read more about the importance of replacing missing teeth.

Dental Implants vs Alternatives

Other methods of replacing missing teeth, such as bridges, dentures, and partials have been around for years. And while they are still valid options today, they’re much more successful if used in conjunction with dental implants.

Bridges are temporary fixes and require the dentist to remove material from healthy adjacent teeth. Where one to three teeth are missing, dental implants can act as anchors on either end and so avoid the need to damage natural teeth.

Dentures and partials These appliances replace a partial or complete loss of upper or lower teeth. Traditionally, they are known to function poorly and they do nothing to prevent bone loss. This can result in a diminishing of the facial profile over time. With dental implants, dentures stay firmly in place which means they won’t limit speech or the ability to eat. The implants fuse to the jaw bone structure, retaining much more bone mass than without them.

Dental implants form a biologic bond with the jawbone to produce a secure foundation for natural tooth replacements. This concept of oral rehabilitation was developed 40 years ago by a Swedish scientist and orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Per-Ingvar Branemark. With his pioneering research, Dr. Branemark opened the door to a lifetime of renewed comfort and self-confidence for millions of individuals facing the frustration and embarrassment of tooth loss.

Guided Dental Implants

The lastest advancement in dental implant technology allows Dr. Brown to take a 3D image of your mouth and precisely plan your surgery before he makes the initial incision. The result is fewer risks, shorter time from beginning to final restoration, and an overall easier treatment plan. Learn more about guided dental implants.

Dr. Brown and Dental Implants

Dr. I. Stephen Brown is uniquely qualified to provide a full range of implant dentistry procedures. He was one of the first U.S. dentists to study directly with Dr. Branemark’s colleagues, and he was the first periodontist in Philadelphia to offer dental implants.

A Professor of Periodontics at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Dental Implant Center at Albert Einstein Medical Center, .Dr. Brown has taught dentists and dental students about dental implants in Philadelphia for many years, and has lectured on the subject both nationally and abroad.

The hope of restoring something important that has been lost, especially in the human body, is an exciting possibility. With dental implants, it’s not just a hope. It’s a reality. To learn more about life-changing dental implants, and to set an appointment in the Philadelphia area, please contact us today.

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