Through injury, decay, root damage, gum disease, or chronic wear you may loose teeth. A dental implant is an extremely strong titanium post that is “implanted” to your jawbone. A replacement porcelain crown is fabricated and permanently attached to the implant that looks and functions naturally.
Dental Implants for Dentures: Dental implants can also be used to secure loose dentures and will dramatically increase chewing function and the variety of foods that can be eaten, eliminating some of the limitations of regular dentures.
Benefits of Implant Dentistry
Looks Great: Dental implants restore your smile with healthy, natural-looking teeth
A Permanent Solution: Compared to other restorative options such as bridges and dentures, dental implants are stronger, longer lasting, and easy to maintain.
Natural: A dental implant looks and feels like a normal tooth
No Decay: Dental implants don’t decay and they are easy to clean
All You Can Eat: You can eat normal foods because the dental implant is anchored to your jaw.
Many Uses: Dental implants can add stability and reduce irritation of gum tissue for patients who wear dentures.
No More Damage: Surrounding teeth won’t drift into the missing tooth area while the dental implant protects the area from bone loss that comes after losing a tooth.
A Better Solution: In many ways, dental implants are better than the natural teeth because they don’t decay or become brittle over time like natural teeth.
The Dental Implant Procedure
An examination of the area with x-rays and measurements are taken.
Often an implant can be placed at the same time a tooth is removed, saving months of healing and eliminating the need for a 2nd surgical procedure and allows the patient to have a replacement crown immediately.
If a tooth has previously been removed or is missing, a tiny hole is drilled where there is no tooth. This hole guides a small titanium screw into the jawbone.
On top, a protective cover screw is placed to allow the site to heal. Over a period of several months, the implant site heals and the dental implant anchors to the bone through a process of osseointegration.
When the site has healed, the protective cover is removed and a temporary crown is placed on the implant.
When the gum grows and shapes itself naturally around the temporary dental crown, a permanent crown will replace the temporary crown.
Your porcelain crown now functions like a normal tooth. Although the dental implant is not susceptible to decay, it is recommended to continue good oral hygiene to protect the surrounding area.
You can expect a virtually pain free experience. Almost all patients have only minor discomfort
