What Are Dental Implants?

In order to understand what dental implants are and why they are the most natural replacement for missing teeth, it is important to understand the general structure of your mouth.

Your natural teeth are composed of two parts, the "crown" which is above the gumline and the "tooth root" which goes down into the jaw bone.

The Meaning of "Dental Implant"

The word "dental implant" has two meanings:

1. If a tooth is lost, your natural tooth root can be replaced with a small titanium post which is placed into your jawbone. This post is called a "dental implant". They look like this:

2. Once the dental implant post is firmly anchored into the jawbone, a small titanium piece is placed on top of the dental implant. This is called an "abutment". A porcelain crown is then cemented onto this abutment. All that shows is your new crown which looks, feels and functions like your natural teeth.

The three parts together (post, abutment and crown) are commonly referred to as a "dental implant".