50 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
Reluctant to smile? You could be paying a higher price than you realize
For millions of individuals who are missing
teeth, smiling is no easy task. Th e decision
to get dental implants can prove to be
life-changing. Several years ago, Dr. Natalie
Wong, president of the American Academy
of Implant Dentistry (AAID), treated a shy
18-year-old man whose front teeth were
knocked out in a bullying incident - and
she still feels grateful for the opportunity.
When the young man fi rst came to
her offi ce, he wouldn’t even look up or
speak to her. Working slowly over many
months, she earned his trust and replaced
his missing teeth with dental implants.
“Th e expression on his face when he
smiled, looking at his fi nal teeth, it was
amazing,” says Wong, who practices in
Toronto and is also the founder and director
of the Toronto Implant Institute. “We
change people’s physical state all the time.
But when you can change someone’s mental
state, that’s something impactful.”
5 reasons dental implants
will make you smile
If you’ve been hesitant or unwilling to
smile as oft en as you would like because
you’re missing teeth - either from birth,
as a result of injury, infection or decay -
dental implants could be just what you
need to start working those smile muscles
a lot more. Here are fi ve reasons dental
implants will bring a smile to your face
and renewed joy to your life:
• You’ll look and feel great. Dental
implants feel, look, fi t and function like
healthy, natural teeth. Whenever you
smile, you’ll know you look your best.
Th ey’re so comfortable, you don’t have
to think about them or care for them
any diff erently than you do your natural
teeth. You just brush and fl oss them
- no need to remove them for cleaning.
• Th ey’re built to last. When properly
cared for, dental implants can last
decades. Many other tooth replacement
options, including certain types
of bridges and dentures, may need to
be replaced as oft en as every fi ve to
10 years, requiring a more signifi cant
investment of time and money.
• You can live life with confi dence. Dental
implants don’t slip or click when you
talk, eat, laugh or kiss. You can enjoy all
of your everyday activities without worrying
about your teeth. You’ll also fi nd
your speech is more natural. Simply
put, you just won’t have any excuses not
to smile.
• Th ey protect facial bone and healthy
teeth. Leaving empty spaces in your
mouth aft er losing one or more teeth can
lead to jawbone deterioration and other
health issues. When dental implants
are placed in your jawbone, they bond
with your natural bone. Th ey’re the only
tooth replacement option that stimulates
bone growth and prevents bone
loss, as well as keeps your facial structure
intact. Another advantage is that
they don’t require grinding down adjacent
teeth as is required to anchor bridges
or attach partial dentures.
• Th ey’re more aff ordable than you might
imagine. At fi rst glance, dentures or
removable bridges might seem like a better
deal than dental implants, given their
lower upfront costs. But the full fi nancial
and emotional cost of dentures or
bridges can run much higher than dental
implants when you factor in ongoing
maintenance costs, the inconvenience and
time-consuming hassle of removing dentures
for cleaning, and the need for frequent
replacement. Add in health costs if
your jawbone starts to deteriorate, and the
social costs of simply not being confi dent
about chewing, laughing, talking or living
your life, and compare the costs again.
Dental implant surgery is one of the safest,
most predictable procedures in the
dental fi eld. But dental implants are complex,
sophisticated devices that require
deep knowledge and specialized expertise
to fi t and place properly, so it’s important
to choose a dental implant dentist with
experience and knowledge you can trust.
Be sure to ask about his or her training,
specializations and credentials. You can
also fi nd plenty of additional helpful information
on the AAID’s consumer website
at www.aaid-implant.org, including a
Find an Implant Dentist tool to locate an
AAID-credentialed dentist near you.
You deserve many reasons to smile.
Don’t let missing teeth prevent you from
getting all the physical and emotional
benefi ts that come with exercising those
smile muscles frequently and confi dently.
Courtesy BPT
/www.aaid-implant.org
/WWW.QNS.COM
/www.aaid-implant.org
