• Implant systems provide an advanced therapy for replacing teeth, while giving you all of the advantages nature intended:
  - Improving your smile and appearance
  - Allowing you to eat the foods you enjoy
  - Restoring painless chewing for easy digestion
  - Letting you speak with greater ease and confidence
  - Returning your natural facial structure
  - Enjoying an active professional and social life
• This chart has been designed to help you understand dental implant therapy, the steps involved in various implant procedures, and how dental implants compare with other tooth replacement alternatives.
• In addition, this chart will explain the process of bone loss that occurs after teeth are lost and the consequences this may have for future tooth replacement.
• The illustrations represent common clinical situations. However, the actual number of implants utilized and the method of restoration may differ by individual case. Your dentist will determine the best treatment plan to fit your particular needs.
• Regardless of the restorative option you discuss with your dentist, you should review the introductory and hygiene sections of this chart.

Comparing Implants To Natural Teeth

Dental implants are an ideal tooth replacement therapy because implants closely mimic natural teeth.

All natural teeth have a dentin core, surrounded by an enamel coating, and are anchored in the jaw bone by their roots.

A completed dental implant has a crown, which replicates the appearance of the enamel coating of the surrounding
natural teeth. The crown is fixed to an abutment, or post,
the equivalent of the dentin core. The post is attached
to the titanium implant, which is anchored in the jaw bone and acts as the root of the replacement tooth.