Dental Implants: A Comprehensive Definition Using a Turkey Sandwich

dental implants and turkey sandwich image

Let me ask you a question… how often do you speak and chew in a day? The simple answer is: A LOT! For me my bites are heavily influenced by what is brought home from the grocery store (if it’s a bag of chips and salsa – game over). On a real note, we speak an average of 7,000+ words a day.

If you are missing a tooth or multiple teeth those 7,000+ words and countless bites become more difficult. So what’s the solution? Dental implants, the most durable device for replacing teeth. Even better, they look and function like real teeth!

What are Dental Implants?

The typical Google definition is: a surgical component that works with the bone of the jaw or skull to hold a dental prosthesis like a crown, denture, bridge, facial prosthesis or to act as an orthodontic anchor. This definition sounds like it was pulled straight from a 700 page dental school textbook, not super helpful. I mean what even is ‘dental prosthesis?’

Here is a better definition for those of you who don’t pass time reading medical textbooks and journals: think of dental implants like tree roots. Roots become part of the soil, similarly dental implants bond with the natural bone in your jaw. Just as roots give trees a solid foundation, dental implants provide a sturdy base to support one or more crowns.

What is a crown you ask? Rather than giving you a drawn-out example or analogy I am going to keep it simple: crown = artificial tooth. Although I don’t like how the word ‘artificial’ sounds. Have you ever seen Pimp My Ride? Think of the car of your dreams, maybe it has a built-in vacuum cleaner or a giant flat screen for tailgating. The point is: it’s customized to fit you. In dentistry, it would be the same concept. Crowns are fully customized to look like your real teeth.

Now let’s talk sandwiches… bear with me here. Think of the implant as the bottom piece of bread and the crown as the top. So what brings the two pieces of bread together? Let’s keep it simple and use turkey, which in our example represents an abutment. The abutment is placed on the dental implant to connect and support the crown.

Make an Appointment

There you have it. A comprehensive definition of dental implants using a turkey sandwich. If you want to learn more about dental implants, visit this page. You can also get quick answers to your questions by calling Hudsonville Dental at (616) 209-4024 or emailing [email protected].