Having your teeth missing may lower your confidence, impacting your day-to-day interactions and overall reducing your quality of life. That is why the benefits of dental implants reach beyond an improved chewing ability and a longer lifespan of the prosthesis when compared to dental bridges and partial or complete dentures.

Nowadays, there are many options in the field of dental restorations when it comes to choosing dental implants. Here at Classic Smiles, our team can increase your quality of life by helping you to recover your healthy smile and your confidence.

What are Dental Implants?

A dental implant consists of a prosthetic element that is commonly placed in the alveolar bone of either the maxilla or the mandible. They act as roots for missing teeth given that they are usually made of titanium and have pores that allow the growth of bone inside of them to fixate the piece. This prosthesis constitutes the anchor for one artificial tooth or more teeth if you choose to use it as an anchor for dental bridges.

There are mainly two types of dental implants, and these are removable implants and fixed implants. Removable implants are similar to dentures, and they can be complete or partial too. They consist of a metallic structure that is firmly attached and can be safely retrieved for maintenance.

A fixed implant is an individual artificial tooth that is placed permanently using a strong biocompatible glue. It cannot be retrieved for cleaning or maintenance. They can also be used to anchor the replacement of more than one tooth.

How Is the Procedure Performed?

Dental implants are placed through a minimal type of surgery. The anesthesia used may be local or general depending on the criteria of our team and slight sedation is also possible.

The procedure initiates with the removal of any remains of the defective tooth and its root. The rest of the process entails making an incision in the gums to expose the jawbone. Then a hole will be created to accommodate the dental implant. After enough new bone tissue has grown into the metallic piece to hold it firmly in place, and if the healing of the gums was satisfactory, the placement of the artificial tooth will take place.

After every procedure, it may be necessary to use ice or an analgesic to reduce pain and inflammation for a few weeks. We will evaluate what is the best medicine that you can use in that situation.

Who Is A Candidate For Dental Implants?

Dental implants are a well-established option among other dental restorations, but they have some requisites in order to be a viable option for you. Our team will take into account how many healthy teeth you have, how many may need replacement, and we will evaluate your overall oral health. You will need to have healthy oral tissues and bones for correct osseointegration of the dental implant and healing of the gums.

For example, your mandible must have reached its complete structural development, which means that it will not change its shape any further. If that is the case, your jawbone still has to have acceptable structural integrity, but if it does not have it a bone graft may be used to go forward with the intervention.

This tends to happen when the thickness of the jawbone is reduced or if the tissue is too malleable. The bone graft may come from your own body, or it may be artificial. Our team will determine if it is necessary and will help you to decide what is the best option for you.

Another recommendation is to not smoke during weeks prior to the whole intervention and after. It has been shown that it may interfere with the correct osseointegration of the dental implant, hindering the recovery and making it necessary to carry out additional operations for a correct prosthesis placement. Alcohol use may also play a role in reducing the rate of success in the integration of the metallic piece and it is advised to lower or cease its consumption for a similar period of time.

After the procedure, it is going to be necessary to perform periodic checkups in order to make sure that the dental implant is performing adequately and to maintain your overall oral health. If you have any questions, we will gladly answer them here at Classic Smiles. Contact us at (407) 378-0139.