Dental Implants

Wherever you have a tooth missing your first thought should be to quickly replace this missing tooth. Most importantly, you must consider the tooth be replaced with a dental implant.

Dental Implants have the potential to outlast any other treatment option we may provide you. Some research studies show over a 95% success rate over 7 years compared to a bridge at 50% survival. Dental implants are made of titanium which your body will not reject. They are precisely machined to resemble the shape of a natural tooth’s root anatomy. What better way to replace a tooth than with something the looks, feels, and resembles a natural tooth. During the procedure, you can expect to feel less vibration during implant placement than you would feel with performing a routine cavity preparation. Depending on many factors for success, dental implants may be placed immediately after a tooth is removed, or delayed 4-6 months to allow the extraction site to heal and fill in with bone. Additionally, not all patients are acceptable candidates to receive dental implants. Some patients may require adding bone to the implant site for better results.

Please schedule a consultation to discuss if you are a candidate for dental implants. Below we list a few reasons why dental implants have numerous advantages over bridges and partial dentures, and complete dentures.

Benefits

  • Proven success rates! 95% survival of dental implants after 7 years. 50% survival of bridges after 7 years. 1 out of 3 patients do not wear their partial dentures after initial insertion. The majority of complete denture wearers have pain with dentures and lack retention of the lower dentures.
  • They feel, function, and appear like natural teeth.
  • They are solid in the bone, thus they do not move and cause pain or embarrassment during eating or speaking. Pain free eating.
  • They stay in your mouth permanently; no more removing dentures.
  • They maintain your bone height and width levels. Once a tooth is removed, you will lose bone rapidly and progressively the rest of your life. Once your bone is gone, you never get it back.
  • They are very conservative. We no longer have to grind down good healthy teeth to place a bridge. You will also be able to floss in between your teeth, unlike under a bridge.
  • Implants to not suffer from periodontal disease.
  • Improve your psychological distress of now having teeth. Implants replace the missing tooth functionally, esthetically, and biologically which in turn will boost your self esteem.

Procedure

All treatment planning (type of implant, number, and location) is determined before implant placement. We start by adequately numbing the area to receive the implant. You will not feel any pain during the whole procedure, rest assured. Next, we reflect the gum tissue to inspect the implant site. Once approved, we use a series of instruments to enlarge the implant area. Once the implant area is of adequate size, the dental implant is slowly placed into the prepared site. Following, we will place sutures in the gum tissue for about one week. If indicated, we will insert a temporary tooth replacement (flipper) during the healing phase to give the appearance there is a tooth there. The dental assistant will go over all post op instructions and home care protocols. It truly is a very comfortable experience and you will thank yourself for choosing dental implants as the option to replace your missing tooth.