Dental Implants
Dental implants can improve our patients’ overall health, while helping them gain the confidence that comes from a well-functioning smile that looks good and feels natural.
There are many benefits to replacing missing teeth with dental implants, chiefly that they:
- Maintain the integrity of bone structure after tooth loss
- Preserve the health of adjacent teeth, since there is no need for bridgework
- Replace loose-fitting dentures
- Distribute bite forces evenly throughout the mouth
- Function and feel like natural teeth
- Improve speaking ability when bulky dentures are eliminated
- Improve facial appearance by preventing bone loss
It is vitally important to replace missing teeth with dental implants promptly in order to prevent health consequences such as:
- Bone loss
- Shifting and drifting of the teeth
- Alteration in the bite as a result of shifting teeth
- Jaw joint problems
- Difficulty in chewing properly
- Additional stress on the remaining teeth
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are biocompatible titanium replacements of the tooth’s anchoring roots. Dental implants replace missing teeth by mimicking nature as closely as possible.
At our cosmetic dentist office, dental implant restorations have three parts:
- Titanium, bone-integrated implant
- Implant abutment
- Implant porcelain crown
What Is the Dental Implant Placement Process?
Planning stage: Planning is the most important part of the process. A carefully and intelligently thought-out treatment plan is the difference between success and failure. Sometimes we may require specialized imaging to visualize the bone condition.
Implant placement: Our specialists will place the dental implant in the ideal spot to form the gum tissue around the implant.
Temporary restoration: if the dental implant is in a readily visible area, a temporary restoration may be placed for esthetic purposes while the site heals.
Abutment placement: when healing is complete, the dental implant abutment is placed to connect the dental implant to the porcelain crown.
Porcelain crown: once our ceramist fabricates the new porcelain crown to exact specifications, we bond the crown to the abutment.
What Will the Procedure Feel Like?
The science of dental implantology has evolved so rapidly from its early days that it is now a very predictable procedure. Dental implants will feel, look, and function like natural teeth. People often tell us they can’t even remember where the dental implants were actually placed in their mouth because they really look and feel like natural teeth.
Do Dental Implants Need to Be Replaced?
We believe that proper planning is imperative to ensuring success. We take meticulous care to ensure the proper distribution of forces in the mouth so that teeth or implants are not forced in the wrong direction or compromised by having excessive force applied to them.
Do Dental Implants Require Special Care?
There are no long-term restrictions with dental implants, although caution is needed until the bone is completely healed. When dental implants are successfully restored, it is important to avoid biting hard substances at first.
Imagine: If your arm was in a cast for months, you wouldn’t want to play a game of tennis right away. Your bones would not be accustomed to having so much force on them and would need to be retrained gradually. The same is true for dental implants.
Initially, a soft diet is best for the first two weeks; after that, you can slowly introduce harder foods. Rest assured, you will soon be able to enjoy all kinds of foods. There is no special way to clean dental implants. Brush and floss twice a day just like you would your natural teeth, and visit your dentist twice a year for checkups and cleanings.
