A flawless smile boosts your self-confidence and enhances your appearance and personality. However, when you lose one tooth or more, the beautiful smile fades away, and the functionality of your teeth is no longer the same. Chewing, biting, and talking become challenging. Later, jaw bone resorption causes the jaw to lose density, affecting your facial structure.
Cosmetic dentistry helps prevent jaw bone resorption and restores your teeth’ functionality and smile using dental implants. The artificial tooth root replaces the missing tooth, allowing you to retain your natural facial structure and averting jawbone resorption. Despite the benefits of implants, they can cause oral problems if not fitted properly. It would help if you had experienced cosmetic dentists for the procedure, and The Lakewood Dentist has the expertise and resources necessary to make the treatment successful.
A Quick Glance at Dental Implants
Dental implants are perfect for supporting the crowns if you wish to replace missing or broken teeth. Implants are titanium or ceramic posts or screws surgically implanted in the jawbone to support or anchor the crowns. At The Lakewood Dentist, we prefer implanting titanium screws, as the metal is as noble as gold and porcelain. Also, titanium is long-lasting, light, and biocompatible, reducing the chances of the body rejecting the metal after implantation. Again, the biocompatibility of the metal makes it a preference for us because it easily integrates with the jaw during osseointegration, reducing the risk of the treatment failing and creating stability for the dental crown.
After implantation and fusion, the implants become the artificial root for the replaced tooth. You will come in for the second appointment after the titanium screws fuse with the bone. In this meeting, we will remove the temporary prosthesis and secure an abutment or connector to the implant. The abutment connects or supports your choice of prosthesis, whether a crown, denture, or dental bridge. The brace lies on the soft tissue margin above the artificial root to secure the prosthesis.
The prosthesis is the external and visible part of the implant cemented in the abutment and implant. We permanently cement the implant, abutment, and prosthesis to enable you to bite comfortably with the artificial teeth, like you were used to with natural teeth.
With the stability provided to the prosthesis by the connector and the implant, your teeth feel and look like the original ones. With implants resembling natural teeth, one cannot differentiate them from the natural ones. Additionally, implants can serve you for a lifetime, as they are not prone to decay, gum disease, or dental caries.
Finally, implants are crucial in retaining your facial structure, enabling you to smile comfortably, and improving your self-esteem and confidence. When you lose teeth and fail to replace them on time, the adjacent teeth shift towards the opening, creating an imbalance. Dental implants help retain tooth balance by replacing lost teeth.
Natural Teeth vs Implants
Periodontal ligaments comprising collagen fibers attach the natural teeth to the jawbone. The collagen threads connect with the bone on one side and the tooth on the other. With poor oral habits, natural teeth can develop periodontal disease, decay, and cavities. The gum tissue infections and decay are typically remedied by root canal therapy.
The implant or replacement tooth fuses with the jaw directly. The titanium screws ensure the replacement does not develop cavities or gum disease. Also, the prosthesis in a tooth replacement attaches directly to the implant through a connector, unlike a natural tooth, where the tooth connects to the bone through the collagen fibers. Nevertheless, the two have similarities; they look the same, and one cannot differentiate between the implant and replacement by just looking.
Implants Candidacy or Eligibility
You are eligible for our implant services if you have lost at least one tooth and your jawbone is fully mature. We consider any patient past adolescence to have an all-grown jawbone. We emphasize that a candidate for implants has a mature jawbone because it is only a mature bone with the space and strength to support an implant firmly. A stable implant offers sufficient anchorage to the prosthesis, enhancing the procedure’s success rate. When our cosmetic dentists treat teenagers, the risk of treatment failure is high because the jawbone is still growing and cannot offer the anchorage necessary for stable implants.
Similarly, you are a candidate for implants if you are ineligible for dentures or if they are not to your taste.
Even though your jawbone is fully mature and you have missing teeth, our cosmetic dentists at The Lakewood Dentist will still not perform the procedure before thoroughly evaluating your gums and teeth. Besides, we will check your jawbone’s mass to ensure it sufficiently anchors the implants. We use state-of-the-art equipment like X-rays and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) for jawbone mass measurement and to identify the strategic places on the jawbone for implantation.
Additionally, particular oral conditions can disqualify you from an implantation procedure if they interfere with osseointegration. Therefore, if you smoke and suffer from cancer, diabetes, uncontrolled periodontal disease, or alcoholism, the risk of the implants failing is high. Tobacco smoking slows down the fusion process and lowers the immune system, elevating the risk of infection. You will need to stop smoking for some time before the procedure.
Talk to us about your medications and any health conditions you could suffer from so we can take appropriate measures to protect your well-being and elevate the treatment’s success rate. If you use specific medications, like immunosuppressants, you must stop taking them before the procedure. For conditions like unchecked diabetes, we must conduct treatment to stabilize it before implantation.
Reasons You Need Dental Implants
Dental patients opt for dental implants for various reasons. One primary reason is to cover the openings left in the jawbone by lost or extracted teeth. When a tooth is lost, the teeth near the socket move towards the space and slant. The rest of the teeth in the mouth are left imbalanced and unstable. With little or no stimulation of the jawbone in some sections, it loses its density, causing further tooth loss. Continued jawbone deterioration leads to changes in the natural facial structure. At The Lakewood Dentist, we remedy these problems through our implant services by replacing lost teeth and filling the open spaces in the jaws.
Another reason you should consider our implant services is if you are having trouble biting or chewing. Dental implants resemble and function like natural teeth, allowing you to chew faster and properly for efficient nutrient absorption in the body, promoting your overall health. Besides, implants enable you to enjoy various foods without limitations and maintain a healthy diet, which is critical to achieving healthy and strong teeth.
When you have lost your confidence and personality because you are afraid of speaking or smiling in public, our dental implant services can solve your problem, restoring your self-esteem and character. Implants will replace the missing teeth to ensure you retain your facial structure and appearance. Again, because implants resemble natural teeth, you obtain your desired goal, which is a flawless smile.
Similarly, implants improve your jawbone health. When the titanium screws fuse with the bone, bone resorption is unlikely, helping you maintain a healthy jawbone. If you have spaces in the jaws, the jawbone receives little stimulation, causing it to deteriorate. Continued deterioration causes wrinkles and a dipped appearance around the mouth, changing the original face’s shape. An implantation service from our cosmetic dentists will preserve the jawbone to help you retain your natural facial structure.
Additionally, your original teeth attach to the bone through periodontal ligaments comprising collagen threads. The fibers are the ones that connect the teeth and the bone, exposing the teeth to periodontal disease and cavities. Nevertheless, when you substitute the lost teeth with dental implants, the soft tissue is no longer linked to the tooth root by the fibers. The titanium screws or posts fuse with the jawbone and the gums stock to the implant’s surface, meaning the replacement cannot develop periodontal disease or cavities. Despite not being susceptible to gum disease and decay, you should properly care for your implants like you do with the original teeth.
Furthermore, implants are the answer when looking for a permanent replacement for your lost teeth. The metal posts are surgically implanted into the jaw and integrated in a course called osseointegration. Once healed, the posts function like natural tooth roots, offering stable anchorage for the prosthesis. Implants will last an average of forty years, which for most adults means a lifetime. We will provide tips on how to care for the implants to obtain maximum benefits.
Implants do not inhibit the nearby teeth; hence, they are appropriate if you seek a treatment that helps preserve natural teeth. During the treatment, your dentist surgically plants the titanium screws in the jawbone where there is an open socket. After healing, a connector is screwed over the implant, and the prosthesis is placed on top. All this happens in the opening caused by the missing teeth, and the adjacent ones are never involved. Other tooth replacement options, like bridges and dentures, are anchored by the teeth next to the space in the jaws. Before the prosthesis is attached, the dentist grinds and shapes the enamel to secure the denture properly. Removing the enamel of a perfectly healthy tooth is not what most patients want, so they prefer our implant services.
Finally, implants are cost-friendly in the long run. The original cost of implantation is high, but the fact that you will not need to replace it for forty years means you will save cash. Implants are less likely to need repairs or replacement with proper care.
Surgical Implantation Procedure
Implants are surgically placed in the jawbone. Not every dental expert can perform the procedure. You will need a prosthodontist, periodontist, or general dentist with implant training, a dental surgeon, or a technician based on the severity of your dental condition. Your restorative oral experts craft the treatment plan, and the dental lab tech fabricates the prosthesis. At the same time, a periodontist inspects your gum tissues to look for periodontitis or gum disease that could reduce the implant’s success rate. Once the periodontist confirms that your gums are healthy for the implantation, a dental surgeon comes in to surgically place the implants in the jawbone.
Osseointegration prolongs the implantation process, which takes approximately five to eight months. At The Lakewood Dentist, we understand this is a long period to wait before the final restoration, so we take time to discuss your expectations of the treatment. Once you have confirmed that an implant is what you want, regardless of the osseointegration duration, we will begin the various stages of the procedure. These steps are:
Damaged Tooth Removal
Apart from cases where the damaged tooth falls off naturally, or you extract it before going to the hospital, the first step of an implantation procedure is the removal of the affected tooth. You could seek this cosmetic dentistry procedure because of fractured or decayed teeth. If these teeth are permanently damaged, the only way to restore your flawless smile is by extracting and replacing them with dental implants. Many patients are afraid of dental clinics because of the pain associated with tooth extraction. However, it would be best if you were not scared because we will use a local anesthetic to make the removal virtually painless. Our restorative dentist will plan the treatment if you have already removed the tooth.
Planning the Implantation Procedure
Even if many patients prefer implants to replace missing teeth, each case is unique, so we tailor the treatment plan to meet your particular circumstances. Planning is all about checking your jawbone to determine if it has sufficient density and space to anchor implants. Also, the restorative dental professional examines your teeth color at this stage to help you pick a prosthesis that matches the remaining healthy natural teeth for a beautiful smile.
You do not have to relinquish the implants if your bone lacks sufficient density and mass. We can perform a bone graft to strengthen the jawbone for successful implantation.
The Bone Graft Procedure
When the restorative dentist establishes that your bone is weak, you must undergo a bone graft. In the surgery, your oral surgeon extracts a small bone from a section of your body and adds it to the jawbone. If you do not want a bone removed from a part of your body, the surgeon can use a synthetic bone. Once grafting is done, you must wait five months to one year for proper jawbone healing. However, when you only require a minor graft, we can complete it before implantation.
Implant Placement
After the grafting has healed, or if your jaw is healthy enough to support the implants, the treatment moves to the next phase, the placement of the implants. Before this step, the restorative dentist will have identified the best positions in the jawbone to place the implants. So, your oral surgeon will rely on the plan to place the implants.
The oral surgeon will cut the earmarked sections of the gum tissue to expose the jawbone. The dental surgeon will then drill holes in the areas of the uncovered jawbone to create holes where the metal screws will be implanted. After drilling, the surgeon will screw in the posts in the sockets to serve as artificial tooth roots. They will then place temporary or healing crowns on top of the implants. The soft tissues around the caps take 10 to 15 days to recover. Once the gums heal, your dentist reopens the gums to place connectors or abutments to the implants above the gum margin. Temporary restorations are then connected to the connector.
You will have eight to twelve weeks for healing or osseointegration to occur. During this time, you will be on antibiotics to avert infections that could prevent the implantation sites from recovering. The natural bonding that happens between the jaw and the posts is what makes implants durable. Besides, avoid hard foods during recovery to avoid interfering with healing.
Placing Permanent Prosthesis
After osseointegration, you will visit us for the final phase of the treatment, where we remove the temporary prosthesis and replace it with a permanent one. You can opt for fixed or removable prostheses for the implants.
Placing Dentures on the Implants
If you want removable prostheses, you should go with the dentures. These are artificial white teeth with pink gum tissue. The teeth are mounted on a metal frame that attaches to the connectors. Therefore, if you are missing teeth in both jaws, you should go for dentures as replacements, as they anchor a complete set of teeth using only two implants. The advantage of dentures is that you can remove them for cleaning or repairs.
Attaching Dental Crowns to the Implants
Another option for prostheses after osseointegration is cemented or screwed-in crowns. Cemented crowns are advantageous because the special cement covers the screw, enhancing the appearance of your teeth and smile. However, these are permanent, and you cannot remove them if need be. On the other hand, the screwed-in crowns are removable, and you can unscrew them when necessary. However, they become loose over time.
The position of the missing teeth should inform your choice of dental crowns. When replacing the front teeth, you should go with the cemented crowns because they will give you the aesthetic appeal you want. The cement covers the connector and cannot be seen when you smile or laugh. When replacing the posterior teeth, particularly the ones you commonly use for chewing, you should consider screwed crowns. Even if the screws are visible, they are invisible when you smile, so they will not affect your smile. Nevertheless, these crowns must be placed immediately after the implantation, and you do not need to wait for osseointegration.
Placing Bridges on Implants
When missing multiple teeth, you can use dental bridges to cover the spaces in the jaws. One option for the bridges is the conventional one. With these traditional bridges, a connector is cemented on the adjacent tooth to support the bridges. Alternatively, you can use one or more pontics supported by a crown. The option is also viable when healthy teeth are next to the socket. These prostheses are aesthetically appealing. The only problem is that they are inappropriate if you want to preserve the remaining healthy original teeth. Your dental professional should remove the healthy tooth’s enamel to reshape it and create room for the dental crown attachment.
Other bridge options are:
- The cantilever bridges.
- Maryland bridges.
- Implant anchored bridges.
Several dental bridge options are available. However, it would help if you spoke to your cosmetic dentist at The Lakewood Dentist to pick the best options for optimum results.
Postoperative Care
The results of implants can only be positive or negative. A successful or positive procedure is where osseointegration happens within the projected duration. However, just because the fusion does not occur within the expected time does not mean the treatment is a failure. You must maintain regular visits to your dentist, steer clear of hard foods, and maintain proper oral hygiene for durable implants. Failure to observe postoperative instructions could cause complications like pain, bleeding on the implantation site, and gum inflammation. If you notice these complications, contact us immediately for a meeting. Whether the treatment outcome is positive or adverse, regular appointments are necessary to examine the progress and give an expert opinion.
Implant Risks
You can experience some discomfort during the drilling and planting of the implants. However, apart from these, the artificial teeth function like the natural ones. Also, you could experience pain during the injection of local anesthesia and the cutting of the gums. However, painkillers alleviate the pain, and antibiotics help prevent infections.
Find a Suitable Cosmetic Dentistry or Implant Service Near Me
If you experience dental issues stemming from missing teeth, The Lakewood Dentist can help. Our cosmetic dentists have the skills and resources to replace missing teeth with implants to resolve your oral issues and restore your beautiful smile and tooth functionality. Contact us today at 562-423-1441 to arrange a meeting or free consultation.