Our patients are often curious to know if dental implants will feel like natural teeth. Dental implants are a popular replacement for missing teeth 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. This titanium screw acts as a replacement for the root of a missing tooth. Since titanium is biocompatible it means that the screw can fuse with bone and become a solid foundation for the restoration that goes on top. The restoration portion of the implant will be a denture, dental crown, or bridge, depending on how many teeth you need to replace.
How natural do dental implants feel?
Dental implants are not alive like a natural tooth. That means the implant doesn’t have any nerves in it to feel sensations, so you won’t have any feeling in the implant itself. Any feeling you experience related to the implant will actually be coming from the surrounding gum tissue not the implant.
That said, dental implants look and function just like natural teeth. They're designed to blend in perfectly with your surrounding natural teeth, and you care for them just like you care for your natural teeth.
Once your implant has had time to heal and you’ve had a few weeks to get used to it, you’ll hardly notice the difference at all.