If you've got a few teeth that are suffering from severe decay, it might become necessary to have them extracted, especially if they have not responded to previous dental treatment, or you're suffering from gum disease. Luckily, losing a few teeth to gum disease, or tooth decay, doesn't mean you'll be resigned to using dentures or bridges. Your dentist may recommend dental implants as a way to replace your missing teeth. Dental implants provide a variety of benefits that dentures and bridges simply can't provide you with. Here are four benefits you'll enjoy if you choose dental implants:

Leaves Healthy Teeth Intact

When you need to have diseased teeth removed, the removal can affect the neighboring healthy teeth. If you choose bridges, the neighboring teeth may need to be reshaped to make room for the dental appliance. If you choose partial dentures, the neighboring teeth may shift, causing problems with your bite. However, implants don't require any reshaping of healthy teeth, and because they're implanted directly into the jawbone, your healthy teeth will maintain their natural position.

Reduces Chewing Pain

You might not realize this, but dentures and bridges can make it difficult to chew properly. In fact, they can lead to significant pain during chewing. Small particles of food can get caught under your dentures, leading to painful sores. Dentures can rub on your gums, causing additional pain and soreness. The same is true of bridges. When you have dental implants, there are no movable pieces for food to get caught under or rub against your gums, which means you won't need to deal with pain during chewing.

Alleviates Speech Problems

If you're going to be having several teeth extracted, you could experience problems with your speech, especially if you're going to be losing any of your front teeth. Your front teeth play a vital role in the formation of letters and sounds during speech. Tooth loss can interfere with that, as can denture wearing. If your dentures don't fit properly, you could have a difficult time speaking properly. However, when you have dental implants, your tongue will rest comfortably against your teeth, which will allow you to continue forming words and sounds.

Won't Break When You Drop Them

One problem with dentures is that they're breakable. Unfortunately, that means that you need to be extremely careful with them, especially when you're brushing them over the sink. Because your implants are permanently placed in your mouth and don't need to be removed for cleaning, there's no danger of them breaking.

Check out a website like http://premierdentalgrp.com/ for more information and assistance.