What are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are artificial roots and teeth (usually titanium) that are surgically placed into the upper or lower jaw bone. The teeth attached to implants are very natural looking and can provide the same function as your natural teeth.
Dental implants are a great way to replace missing teeth and provide a fixed solution compared to having removable partial or complete dentures.
Benefits of Dental Implants
- Replace one or more missing teeth without drilling into adjacent teeth which is needed with a dental bridge
- Resolve joint pain or bite problems caused by teeth shifting into missing tooth space
- Restore a patient’s confident smile
- Restore chewing, speech, and digestion
- Restore or enhance facial tissues like lip fullness
- Support a denture, making it more secure, stable and comfortable
Dental Implant Procedure
All successful dental implants start with meticulous Diagnosis and Treatment Planning.
This will include:
- Thorough Assessment of your medical history to ensure you don't have diabetes or any bone issue which may affect the success of dental implants
- Review of any habits such as smoking, marijuana etc
- Complete assessment of your teeth, TMJ issues, etc .
- High resolution 3 D Ct scan to check the quantity and quality of the jaw bone
If the tooth to be replaced is not removed yet, the next step is Atraumatic removal of the infected tooth and careful removal of all the infection.
It's very important that the bone surrounding the tooth is preserved as much as possible.
Depending on the height, the width of the jaw bone and the quality/softness of the bone, Bone particles and Collagen graft are placed to improve the quality and dimensions of the bone.
A strong foundation of healthy bone is absolutely critical to the long-term success of your implant.
3-4 months after tooth removal or placement of bone graft, it's time for Implant Surgery.
We use the Computer Designed and Manufactured Surgical guide for all our implant surgery. The use of surgical guides helps us achieve pinpoint precision for the placement of dental implants.
3-4 months after the placement of the dental implant comes the final step of the process.
This is when a Crown (tooth) is screwed into the implant and tightened to the right amount of torque.
Extra attention is given to your bite to make sure you are putting just the right amount of pressure on your brand-new implant tooth.
Just like your natural teeth, your implant needs regular cleaning and check-up.
If any issues are noticed during the regular cleaning appointment, they can be rectified immediately.
How Much Do Dental Implants Cost?
The actual cost of dental implants can vary considerably, depending on the amount and nature of the work needing to be done. Some of the factors that affect the overall cost include:
- The number of implants needed
- The presence of gum disease
- The occurrence of bone loss
- The need for tooth extractions
- The type of procedure being done
It is best to consult with Dr. Davé for a proper diagnosis and treatment cost options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Studies have shown that dental implants can last more than 10 plus years in 90%+ of the cases. This means that most dental implants in your mouth will last for more than 10 years. Factors which reduce the lifespan of implants are improper and infrequent dental cleaning, smoking, uncontrolled diabetes and other bone issues.
No, dental implants don't get cavities because they don't have any calcium in them. Dental implants are made up of titanium which does not get cavities. You still need to brush and floss around the implants just like you would with your regular teeth because you can still get bacteria on the gums around the implants which can cause the reduction in bone around the implants eventually causing the implants to fail.
In some cases if there is no infection around the tooth and the bone appears healthy the implant can be placed at the same time as the tooth extraction. But as you can imagine in most cases the tooth would need extraction because of infection around it. Placing an implant in the presence of infection reduces its success. For this reason, the decision to place an implant after removing the tooth at the same time has to be made after careful consideration.
START WITH A CONSULTATION
Preserve the health of your smile and schedule a free consultation with Dr. Davé today!
