During their dental implants consultations, our patients often ask us if the implants will feel like natural teeth. Implants are a popular tooth replacement option because they give wearers a natural look and feel. But how natural do they really feel?
What is a dental implant?
A dental implant is a very small titanium screw that is implanted into the jaw bone to act as a replacement for the root of a missing tooth. Titanium is biocompatible, which 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 can be a dental crown, bridge, or denture, depending on how many teeth need to be replaced.
How natural do dental implants feel?
A dental implant is not alive like a natural tooth, and it doesn’t have any nerves in it to feel sensations, so you won’t have any feeling in the implant itself. Any feeling you do experience related to the implant will come from the surrounding gum tissue.
Otherwise, dental implants look and function just like natural teeth. They're designed to blend in perfectly with the surrounding natural teeth, and you care for implants just like you care for your natural teeth.
Once your implant has healed and you’ve had a few weeks to get used to it, you’ll find that you hardly notice the difference at all.