…no, not the kind you see at Hooters. I’m talking about the ones that go in the mouth that can be used to replace missing teeth or to anchor a denture in place. But, just like the Hooters kind, dental implants are pretty neat.
So, why am I writing about them this month? Because we at Arizona Smile Designers have being seeing an alarming trend when it comes to prevention and the health and value of natural teeth. Perhaps it’s related to television ads, like the one that advertises that you can have teeth in just one day, that make implants sound like they are simple, quick and inexpensive, although they never get around to the fact that these “teeth” cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Hey, I just had a thought. Have you ever wondered why they say teeth in a day? Maybe it’s because people generally have 24 adult teeth. You know. 24 teeth, 24 hours.
Okay, okay…that was a stretch. But hey. Lens Grafters just takes about an hour, right. Hey, I’m just sayin’…
Anyway, getting back to the point. We seem to be seeing a lot of people, when faced with the cost of saving a tooth versus removing it, choose the latter and make the comment, “I’ll just replace it with an implant.” Well, dental implants are just not that easy…nor are they cheap. In fact, it will take far longer to replace the tooth with an “implant” and it will end up costing more than to save the tooth in the first place.
In our practice, we are all too happy to place and restore implants. But, preventing problems for our natural teeth is still the Numero Uno in our book. Second, is repairing/restoring natural teeth when, in fact, there is a problem.
It’s always been our goal to offer the best dental care possible for our patients, whether it be to save a tooth or replace a lost one with an implant. As Susy has said more than just a few times, “Food is way too important not to have teeth!”
See you next month when we talk about…uh, uhhhh?? Well, I’ll think of something.
Earl Lord, DDS [email protected]
