During their dental implants consultations, our patients often ask Dr. Salman and Dr. Seddik if their implants will feel like natural teeth. Implants are a popular tooth replacement options because they give wearers a very natural look and feel. But exactly how natural do they really feel?
What is a dental implant?
A dental implant is a tiny titanium screw that is implanted into the jaw bone to act as an artificial tooth root. Titanium is biocompatible, meaning the screw will fuse with the bone to create a solid foundation restoration that goes on top. The restoration portion of the implant will be a dental crown, bridge, or denture, depending on how many teeth need to be replaced.
How natural do dental implants feel?
A dental implant is not alive like a natural tooth is, of course, and so it doesn’t have any nerves in it to feel sensations. This means you won’t have any feeling in the implant itself. Any feeling you experience related to the implant will come from the surrounding gum tissue.
Otherwise, dental implants look, feel and function just like natural teeth. They are designed to blend in perfectly with the surrounding natural teeth, and you can care for just like you do your natural teeth, too.
Once your implant has healed and you’ve had a few weeks to get used to it, you’ll find you hardly notice the difference at all.