Whether you are missing one or a few teeth, dental implants can greatly improve the appearance of your smile. Lasting 40 years or more with good care, titanium implants show excellent success rates. Read on to see how you can confidently smile again.
What Are Dental Implants?
Successful implants offer permanent solutions for tooth loss. Acting as roots, implants are placed into the jawbone to hold artificial teeth. Unlike dentures and bridges, the titanium root actually fuses with the bone.
Once the implant conforms to the bone, a crown is then made to fit your surrounding teeth. The new tooth is made to look like your original teeth.
Protect the Integrity of Your Oral Health
Continuing to live your life without getting the proper tooth replacement leaves you in bad shape. While dentures or bridges are a great option, they are not the best long-term option to guard against potential health problems. Implants are the only real way to truly avoid the damage that results from the loss of your teeth. Leaving un-filled spaces in your mouth allows room for shifting of your teeth which can have a larger impact than just a crooked smile.
Implants help protect against:
- Loss of jawbone
- Jaw fractures
- Facial realignments
- Speech impediments
- Cavities
- Damage to other teeth
Implants are the only sure way to prevent your jaw from deteriorating and can help you feel better about yourself by giving you back your smile.
Getting Dental Implants
The dental implant process starts with one or two 
consultations with your dentist to discuss the best long-term solution for your lifestyle and needs. Once the decision is made that an implant is right for you, your dental professional will place the titanium implant which acts as the root for your new tooth. Using the most advanced methods, the implant is placed in the socket of the missing tooth in the jawbone. A recovery period of 6 – 12 weeks will follow the placement of the titanium post allowing your bone to properly fuse to and heal around the new root.
Once the implant has fully bonded with the jawbone, a connector piece called an abutment is attached securely to the titanium post. The abutment is what connects your new tooth to your new titanium root. After the abutment is in place, then the real fun begins!
Your dental care team will take a digital impression of your teeth to create a model of your bite. The model is used to create a personalized replacement tooth, called a crown, to attach to the abutment. Meticulous care is taken to ensure the new tooth will have the same shape and color as your natural teeth and align properly with your bite. Your new implant-supported tooth will look, feel and function just like your natural teeth.
Patients who receive dental implants report very little discomfort with the procedure. Anesthetic is provided along the way to ensure you are not in pain during the implant process and most patients do well with minimal over-the-counter pain medications after the procedure.
Proven Success Rate
Implant success rate is dependent upon a patient’s overall health and how well they take care of their teeth. If a patient is healthy enough for a routine tooth extraction or basic oral surgery, a dental implant should be no problem. Your dentist takes great care to evaluate your overall oral health prior to establishing an implant treatment plan. Dentists want to ensure the jawbone will heal around the new titanium root and consider all aspects of the patients health and lifestyle prior to finalizing an implant treatment plan.
Dentists pride themselves in taking great care of you and your teeth at all times, during the implant process is no exception. Patient’s oral hygiene habits play a role in their implant success, but a typical routine would require the same care as real teeth; brushing, flossing and regular checkups. With proper care, most implants can last a lifetime. There is no need to give up your favorite food just because your teeth may not be very strong. Dental implants are just as durable as your natural teeth, and once your implant is placed, you should have no trouble eating, drinking and smiling as you would normally do.
Do you still have questions about implants? Do not hesitate to call us with questions or concerns. We provide our patients with informative advice, talk through what options are best for you, and we will make sure you feel right at home with us at Sulens Dental Studio.
My grandfather needs to get a few teeth pieces removed since they’re very damaged, so we’re looking for an alternative for dentures. It’s helpful to know that dental implants cause very little discomfort during their application, so I’ll ensure my family’s aware of this. Thank you for the insight on what we’d expect from getting dental implants.