What You Need To Know About Dental Implants

While dentures have long served as the primary replacement for lost teeth, dental implants are rapidly becoming the preferred choice for tooth replacement and restoring oral function and confident smiles. Not only are dental implants more comfortable and natural feeling than dentures, but they also represent a more permanent solution that more effectively boosts overall oral health, then dentures. Unlike dentures, implants transfer chewing force to the jawbone and help maintain the jawbone’s shape and density that would otherwise degrade over time due to the missing root(s).

Your Island Tower Dentist can use implant technology to replace everything from a single tooth to a completely missing arch while leaving the healthy teeth alone. While partial dentures and bridges provide a reasonable cosmetic fix for missing arches, they are not as functionally effective and cannot stop underlying bone loss in the jaw. Additionally, bridgework needs two or more teeth to serve as abutments, exposing them to greater risk of cavities and other stressors.   

You might be a candidate for implant work if:

• You are missing one or more teeth.
• You have difficulty chewing because of missing teeth.
• You have or need a dental bridge.
• Your dentures are ineffective or uncomfortable.
• You have adequate bone to secure the implants.
• You have overall healthy oral tissues.
• You don’t have health issues that impact bone healing.
• You don’t smoke.

HOW DO DENTAL IMPLANTS WORK?

With the highest success ratio of any implanted surgical devices, dental implants work by providing a secure anchor in the jawbone that holds a dental crown in place. The anchoring is achieved by the implant’s titanium alloy property of naturally fusing to the bone in a process known as osseointegration. Once securely fixed in your jaw, implants and their crowns quickly work just as effectively as the teeth they replaced. While there might be some minor bruising and pain, most patients are able to chew soft foods within a day of implantation surgery. Note, though, that implant surgery is a multi-stage process and that bone healing times will dictate to some degree the timing of the final step of attaching the permanent crown to the anchor.

YOUR IMPLANTS AT ISLAND TOWER DENTISTRY

Your implant treatment at Island Tower Dentistry starts with a full assessment of your teeth, gums, and underlying bone to determine the long-term viability of the potential implant(s). Those with too much bone loss, and unable or unwilling to undergo bone grafting, may not be viable candidates for implant treatment. Along with a physical assessment, Island Tower Dentistry relies on X-rays, CT scans, and modeling to both determine implant feasibility and to successfully guide implant surgery. Other steps involved in the implant process include:

• Damaged tooth removal (if needed).
• Jawbone preparation and bone grafting (if needed).
• Implant placement.
• Bone growth and healing.
• Abutment placement.
• Crown placement.