Tooth loss is an extremely common issue that millions of Americans suffer from every year. As you grow older, various issues like natural wear and tear and dental disease weaken your teeth, which makes them more susceptible to tooth loss. You may also have to get tooth extractions done to deal with various issues.
Dental implants are metallic frameworks or posts that the dentist lodges into the jawbone just under the gums of the missing tooth. This metallic framework, usually made of titanium, acts as the tooth’s root and becomes a part of your body. The dentist then uses the post to plant a dental crown or dental bridge. This is the most effective and stable means of permanent tooth replacement. Contact our team to discover the amazing advantages of dental implants in Clute.
Why Choose Woodshore Family Dentistry for Dental Implants?
Dental implants are small, thin posts that are made to be placed in the jawbone so that they can act as artificial tooth roots. They’re shaped like screws, and they’re made out of biocompatible materials like titanium and zirconia. Once an implant post is in your jaw, a process called osseointegration takes place. This is where the post essentially fuses with the surrounding bone, ensuring that your new teeth will always stay in place and will have chewing strength comparable to natural teeth.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
You should know that the process for getting dental implants is unique and requires multiple steps; however, this isn’t meant to deter you. Rather, it’s meant to encourage you – dental implants have the potential to last for decades and outperform traditional restoration solutions, making the lengthy process very worthwhile! While every smile and treatment differs, here’s a brief overview of the four main steps of the dental implant process:
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
Dental implants can be used to assist patients missing any number of teeth, no matter where they’re located inside the mouth. But before you can receive your dental implants, you’ll need to attend a consultation with our team to determine that you’re a suitable candidate. To be eligible, you’ll need to have sufficient jawbone density so that the implants can properly fuse with your jaw. You’ll also need to be in decent oral health; gum disease, for instance, can compromise implants during the healing process, meaning it’ll need to be treated beforehand. Luckily, preliminary procedures like bone grafts and gum disease treatment exist to ensure that your mouth can be made to healthily host the implants.
Dental Implant Surgery
We’re proud to be able to complete the entire dental implant process in-house here in our Clute office, meaning you won’t have to coordinate with other teams or drive around town for your care. The dental implant surgery itself is very straightforward, and it typically takes around half an hour or an hour to place a single implant, which increases with multiple posts. After numbing your mouth, we start by making a small incision into the gum tissue to gain access to the jawbone, and then we place the implant(s) directly into the bone tissue. Lastly, we’ll suture your gums shut and place protective caps on top of the posts, to help maintain the shape of your gums and safeguard your implants during the healing process.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment
Osseointegration is the most important part of the dental implant process following the surgery; this refers to the process by which your implant posts fuse with your jaw over the course of several months. Dental implants are made from biocompatible materials like titanium so that they can safely fuse with bone tissue. The result is a strong and sturdy foundation that can provide unmatched stability and support to your replacement teeth. You’ll be given specific guidance to get you through osteointegration successfully. Once your implant posts have fused with your jawbone, we can place metal abutment pieces to the ends of them which eventually house your restoration.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s)
A few weeks following the abutment placement, we’ll call you back in to provide you with your custom-made restoration. Rest assured, these new teeth will look and feel incredibly lifelike, and you’ll enjoy improved bite power and oral function. This means you’ll also see your confidence soar. Once we attach your restoration to your abutments, we’ll check one last time that everything looks and feels as it should; in the future, you’ll have to keep an eye on your implants, but as long as you stay on top of your oral health, they should stay in optimal shape.
Benefits of Dental Implants
The best dental implants give you the following benefits:
Cosmetic Appearance: Dental implants become a part of the body because your jawbone naturally grows around the metallic framework. As such, a dental implant acts like your actual tooth. The dental crown that’s planted over the dental implant can be sculpted to look like the best version of your own tooth.
Speech and Eating Enhancement: If you’re missing some teeth, you may have problems with speech. Dentures make the problem even worse because they can potentially slip out while speaking, which can be embarrassing. A tooth implant can improve your speech and there’s no risk of it slipping out, so you can speak normally. The same goes for when you’re eating. You can chew your food properly, and you don’t have to worry about your implants coming off like dentures.
Comfort: The best part about dental implants is that they become a part of your body since they’re lodged into your jawbone. So, you don’t even feel them over time and there’s no risk of them coming off.
Your Original Teeth Are Not Altered: Most effective dental replacements require the dentist to alter your current teeth. For example, if you want a dental bridge, the dentist will have to shave the enamel off the surrounding teeth to fit them for dental crowns. If you go for dentures, the dentist won’t have to make changes, but they’ll also be unstable. Dental implants are completely stable and none of your surrounding teeth have to be altered.
Convenience: The biggest issue with dentures is that you have to constantly take them off while sleeping or eating. You also have a special maintenance routine for your dentures. With dental implants, you simply have to take care of them the way you take care of your other teeth (i.e., follow your regular oral hygiene routine).
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Anyone can get dental implants, as long as you’re healthy enough and can get a dental extraction and affordable oral surgery as well. The only requirement for dental implants is that you should have healthy gums and enough bone structure under the gums of the missing tooth.
When you lose your teeth, the bone structure also starts wearing away gradually. Over an extended period, you may not have enough bone to support dental implants. In that case, you may have to opt for bone graft surgery to facilitate bone regeneration before you can get dental implants.
Dental implants may also be ill-advised for people who suffer from heart disease, diabetes, or those who have undergone radiation therapy. However, you should discuss this with your dentist and follow their recommendations.
Missing One Tooth
A single missing tooth can easily be replaced with just one dental implant. It will serve as an artificial root for a single dental crown that has been expertly designed to resemble your natural tooth, right down to the shape and color. Implant crowns feel so natural that it’s not unusual to momentarily forget which tooth was the one you needed to replace.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Two dental implants can support a dental bridge to replace three or more teeth in a row. The advantage of using implant bridges instead of traditional bridges lies in the fact that we don’t have to make any alterations to your remaining teeth to place the restoration; the implant posts will provide all the necessary support.
Missing All of Your Teeth
Dental implants are versatile enough to replace all of the teeth missing in a single arch. We just need to insert a minimal number of posts – usually between four and six – into your jaw so that they can support a full denture. Unlike traditional dentures, implant dentures always stay in place and can be used to comfortably chew virtually any kind of food.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
The best dental implants are extremely expensive. In most cases, a single tooth implant will cost between $3,000 to $4,500. However, since this is a one-time fixed cost, most people find it to be completely worth it. You should, however, note that dental implants are rarely covered by insurance.
Best Dental Implant Maintenance
The following is an overview of how you can maintain the best dental implants so that they last a lifetime:
Brush your teeth twice a day with a dentist-recommended toothpaste.
Floss thoroughly between your teeth every day.
Use an antibacterial mouthwash to rinse your mouth and get rid of all bacteria.
Seek regular dental cleaning sessions.
Dental Implants FAQs
How Successful are Dental Implants?
How Strong are Dental Implants Compared to Real Teeth? Are Dental Implants as Good as the Natural Tooth?
Are Dental Implants Noticeable?
How Do Dental Implants Work?
The best dental implants have an incredibly high success rate of 98%. Anyone can get dental implants, and they rarely cause any side effects or complications. The only situation in which a dental implant won’t be suitable for you is if you don’t have enough bone structure in the area of the missing tooth. But the dentist can remedy that with a bone graft.
Dental implants are extremely strong. In fact, dental implants are just as good as natural teeth because the dentist lodges the titanium frame into your jawbone, making it a regular part of your body. If you take care of them, dental implants can even last a lifetime.
Dental implants are not at all noticeable. The implants themselves aren’t even visible because they’re just metallic roots for the dental crown. The dental crown is visible on top, but it’s sculpted to look just like your real tooth so no one will know the difference.
The following steps take you through the entire dental implant procedure so that you understand how they work:
The best dental implant dentist will examine your teeth and study your conditions to determine the correct treatment plan for your needs.
The dentist will attach a small titanium post, which serves as the tooth root, into the jawbone of the missing tooth. For 6 to 12 weeks, the jawbone will heal around the titanium post so that the post becomes an anchored part of your body.
In the next session with the dental implant dentist, they’ll connect another metal post to the titanium root.
The dentist will take an accurate impression of your bite alignment, teeth size, and teeth shade to design the perfect dental crown for you. The dental crown will be prepared in around two weeks. Until then, the dentist may attach a temporary crown over the dental implant.
Once the dental crown or bridge is constructed, the dentist will attach it to the connector post and then make some final adjustments. The result will look exactly like your real set of teeth.
