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Dental implants have a lifespan of 25 years or a lifetime.
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We will take x-rays of your teeth and jaw to determine if you’re a good candidate for dental implants. If you have insufficient jaw bone, we can perform bone grafting so you can support implants. Impressions are taken of your teeth to create your dental crown.
Under local anesthetic, we will make an incision into your gums and implant the screw-like titanium post into your jaw bone. The gum is then sutured.
There will be a waiting period of 3-6 months for osseointegration to be complete. This is when the jaw bone grows around the implant so they fuse as one tooth root.
Once the implant has osseointegrated, we can reopen the gums and attach an abutment.
With the impressions we took of your teeth, a dental crown is fabricated in an outside dental lab. A few weeks after the placement of the abutment, we can attach your dental crown which completes your restoration.
Various restorations can be supported by dental implants, such as dental crowns, bridges, and dentures. Full arch restorations are supported by a series of implants, with 2-6 implants on each arch.
Dental implant maintenance at home involves brushing your teeth with a soft-bristled manual or electric toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. Brush for two minutes twice a day and floss in between each tooth to thoroughly clean the surfaces of the abutment.
A water flosser or interdental brush may be more beneficial than floss thread. You will also need to schedule an appointment every 3-6 months to have your dental implants examined and for a thorough cleaning.
When you are missing a single tooth, we can replace it with a single dental implant to fill in the gaps in your smile, restore the tooth’s function, and structure. After implanting a titanium post, we’ll then attach an abutment and a dental crown to complete the restoration.
Full arch dental implants are when a series of dental implants support an entire arch of replacement teeth. This can replace one or both arches of teeth in the mouth by attaching a removable denture or fixed bridge to the implants. Various types of full arch implants involve placing a different number of implants.
Two minor oral surgeries are involved in the dental implant process - the implantation of the titanium post and later, the reopening of the gums to attach the abutment. It takes from a few days to 2 weeks to heal from these surgeries but 3-6 months for the implant to fuse with the jawbone.
There are no age restrictions for dental implants.
Dental implants are permanent replacements for missing tooth roots. Unlike other restorations, the implants are embedded in the jawbone and form artificial tooth roots so they replace the entire tooth, from crown to root.
The implants themselves last for a minimum of 25 years but with proper care can last for a lifetime. The attached restoration, such as a crown, denture, or bridge that replaces the visible portions of your teeth need to be replaced sooner, however.
This is generally every 10 to 15 years depending on your lifestyle and oral hygiene. Restorations that undergo more daily wear and tear from chewing on hard foods, grinding your teeth without a mouthguard, or using your teeth to open packages will need to be replaced sooner than restorations that were carefully looked after.
Yes, dental implants can get infected if you don’t practice good oral hygiene, causing inflammation in the surrounding soft tissues that support the implants. This is known as peri-implantitis and it’s one of the biggest causes of implant failure.
This can be caused by improper or infrequent brushing and flossing. If you notice symptoms such as bad breath, bleeding, an implant that feels loose or is moving, pain where the implant is, and swollen gums, you should contact us right away for an emergency appointment with Dr. Stroing or Dr. White.
We can diagnose peri-implantitis by taking digital x-rays. The best way to prevent peri-implantitis is to practice good oral hygiene and avoid smoking. You should be brushing twice a day and flossing once a day, but don’t forget to get your implants thoroughly cleaned every 6 months at a dental cleaning.
Yes, dental implants are unique in that they are the only tooth replacement that actively prevents bone loss. When you chew, the chewing forces get transferred to the jawbone by your teeth because the roots are embedded in the jawbone.
However, when you lose a tooth you lose these tooth roots and this means that there is no longer any transfer of chewing forces that stimulate the jawbone and tell it to regenerate cells that keep the bone intact.
This leads to bone resorption. However, when we restore the missing tooth roots with implants by forming artificial tooth roots, the jawbone becomes stimulated again and this preserves the existing jawbone.
Implants are made of titanium in an outside dental lab. We take careful impressions and scans of your bite so we can precisely implant the titanium post into your jawbone. Implants begin as a long titanium rod that is placed into a lathe system which spins it and cuts it and creates threads much like the shape of a screw.
Special technology shapes and cuts the implants into the correct length. Then, we make an incision into your gums and use a dental drill to implant the titanium post into your jawbone. It takes 3 to 6 months for osseointegration to occur which is when the jawbone fuses with the implant. After that, we can attach the abutment and the restoration.
Recovery after receiving dental implants can vary but generally, it should take no longer than 2 weeks to fully heal from oral surgery. Most people will take just 1 to 2 days to heal, but this may take longer for patients receiving multiple implants, those who received bone grafts and depending on the location of the implant.
The longest process of recovery is osseointegration, which takes 3 to 6 months. During this time, the jawbone grows around the implant and then they fuse and become integrated.
Monday: 8am-5pm
Tuesday: 8am-5pm
Wednesday: 8am-5pm
Thursday: 8am-5pm
Friday (1x/mo): 8am-12pm
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