THE SCIENCE OF saving teeth will keep improving as we make more advances in medical research and technology, but what’s so important about saving teeth instead of replacing them? There are many reasons our natural teeth are better than even the best tooth replacements available.
One is healing. To heal effectively, a body part needs a good blood supply. Dental implant surgery can compromise the blood supply in the area, which slows down tissue generation and is more likely to leave scars. A tooth saved through endodontic therapy still has its original blood supply.
Food allergies and organ transplant failures have the same cause: our immune systems being too good at their jobs. It’s rare, but the same can happen with a dental implant if the body mistakes it for a harmful foreign object. If that happens, the support structures around the implant can break down. This will not be a problem for a natural tooth.
Any gum tissue is at risk of gum disease, even around an implant, but implants don’t have the physical barrier against bacteria that natural teeth do. This kind of gum disease is called peri-implant mucositis, and it can be more difficult to manage. If it goes unchecked, it can become peri-implantitis, which usually requires surgical intervention.
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