Implants
People are living longer than ever, and while regular brushing, flossing, and checkups allow many of us to maintain our natural smiles for a lifetime, sometimes our teeth just can't keep up. If you've lost a tooth (or a few teeth) due to injury or disease, dental implants can rejuvenate both your smile and your oral health.
An implant is a synthetic tooth root in the shape of a post that is surgically placed into the jawbone. The “root” is usually made of titanium: the same material used in many replacement hips and knees, and a metal that is well-suited to pairing with human bone. A replacement tooth is then fixed to the abutment and implant. The tooth can be either permanently attached or removable. Permanent teeth are more stable and feel more like natural teeth.
The ideal candidate for implants is a non-smoker who has good oral health, including a sufficient amount of bone in the jaw, and healthy gums with no sign of gum disease.
Single or Multiple Implants
Implants are versatile. If you are only missing one tooth, one implant plus one replacement tooth will do the trick. If you are missing several teeth in a row, a few strategically placed implants can support a permanent bridge (a set of replacement teeth). Similarly, if you have lost all your teeth, a full bridge or full denture can be permanently/semi-permanently fixed in your mouth with a strategic number of implants.
Advantages Over Dentures or Bridges
Dentures are not fixed to the bone and can therefore be unstable. This can make it difficult to eat or smile with confidence. Implants not only result in a more natural-looking denture but feel and act more like normal teeth, with a stronger biting force. Because bridges are linked to adjacent natural teeth, implants allow virgin teeth to remain untouched while still replacing missing teeth.
Post-Treatment Care
Consider your replacement teeth to be the same as natural teeth. They require the same daily brushing and flossing, and the same number of regular checkups. Just like your natural teeth, the better you take care of your implants, the longer they will last.
Implant Experience
Please have a good night’s rest before the day of implant placement and eat a nutritious breakfast or lunch.
A local anesthetic will be used to block sensation in the area where the implant is to be placed.
A small incision may be made in your gums to obtain access to the location where the implant will be placed.
Several sizes of small drills will be used to make precise, painless, preparations in the locations where the implants will be placed.
Implants will be placed into the prepared sites.
Your gum tissue may be sutured together to isolate the newly placed implants from oral fluids and foods. The stitches will dissolve by themselves unless we advise you differently.
You will be asked to bite on gauze sponges for at least one half-hour after the implant placement to stabilize any incision and stop any slight blood flow.
You will be given prescriptions that you should have filled and begin to use immediately. The doctor will prescribe an antibiotic to control any potential infection. Please take this medication as directed until the tablets are gone. The doctor may also give you a prescription for a pain-relieving medication to control discomfort. Take this medication only until you do not need it anymore.
Anesthesia should remain in your mouth for at least 1 hour after we are finished.
As soon as possible after treatment, place ice in a plastic bag and put it on the outside of your face for a few hours over the sites where the implants were placed. This reduces the potential swelling and bruising. However, you may still have some swelling and bruising for a few days.
There may be a feeling of numbness caused by the surgery that lingers for a short time. Usually, this feeling goes away within a few days. In very few cases it does not get away totally.
Eat and drink only soft foods for a few days. The less force you put on the implant area for the next several days, the better and faster it will heal. Over 95% of implants are accepted well by the body, and about one out of twenty is rejected and must be replaced.
Implant Services
Our implant services include:
Implant Placement
Implant Restorations
Bone Grafting: When a tooth needs to be removed due to infection, it is not uncommon to have lost bone around the infected tooth. In these cases, various types of bone grafting can be done at the same time the tooth is removed to facilitate the placement of a dental implant later.
Implant Maintenance: Once your dental implant restoration is completed, it is important to keep the area clean and infection-free. Dental implants can accumulate plaque and tartar just as teeth can. Whether you have just one tooth replaced by an implant or several, a professional cleaning schedule will be necessary to keep your implants healthy. The time interval for these professional cleanings will be determined by your individual needs.