Dental implants are man-made teeth which are used to replace missing, natural teeth. They are placed on strong, artificial roots which allow the patient to chew efficiently just as with natural teeth. Modern dental implants usually consist of three parts: implants (artificial root), abutments (connection device), and prosthesis (artificial crown). Dental implants share similar structure and function to natural teeth and can restore esthetic and masticatory function.

——Disadvantages of missing teeth

Dentition defects or being edentulous (having no teeth) may jeopardize appearance, pronunciation, and masticatory (chewing) function. As time goes by, adjacent teeth will lean and move, resulting in food impaction, dental caries (cavities), and even periodontitis (inflammation of surrounding tissue). The nearest tooth will move to occupy the space of the missing one, and this will develop into occlusion disorder (unhealthy bite). The inefficiency of masticatory function will increase the burden on the digestive system and lower efficiency of nutrient absorption.

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• Methods of dental restoration