Dental Implants

Dental implants are artificial roots placed under the gum, designed to either replace a missing tooth or secure a partial or denture.

Dental implants feel very natural & are the first choice by dentists and patients for filling a missing space. They feel rather similar to the original missing tooth and most patients forget they even have an implant!

If you have a denture, adding dental implants commonly give them a “snap-in” function to help with stability. Sometimes they can even allow the denture to be screwed even for an even more natural feel.

Dental implants are an excellent option for individuals who have lost one or more teeth and desire a secure, long-lasting replacement.

Dental implants can benefit individuals in several ways:

When replacing a single tooth, dental implants are often the most natural tooth replacement option, both in function and ability to clean.

They have the advantage over a traditional tooth replacement option, a bridge, in which they require no modification or destruction to the neighboring teeth. This helps to limit the potential for future cavities and nerve damage to these other teeth.

What’s even better is that since implants don’t need these neighboring teeth as support, those teeth remain untouched and won’t have to bear the additional force and stress of doing the work of an extra tooth.

Dental implants do the work all on their own. Additionally, since affordable dental implants are made of titanium, there is no potential for cavity development.

Options For Missing Teeth Replacement

For Partial Teeth Replacement

Partial Dentures

Non-Invasive
Best for People with a single or small section of Missing Teeth
Faster than most Teeth Replacement Procedures

Dental Bridges

No Bone Grafting needed
Maintain Natural Face Shape
Best for People with a single or couple of Missing Teeth

Upper/Lower Arch Implants

Best for People with Complete Dental Arch Decay or Multiple Missing Teeth
Helps to prevent additional jawbone loss. Supports muscles in the mouth

For Full Mouth Reconstruction

All on 4 Dental Implants

Completely Restore your Smile
Mostly doesn’t need a bone graft
Permanent Lifetime Solution

All on 6 Dental Implants

Improved Stability
Improved Jaw Support
Safe and Robust

Denture Stabilization

Affordability of Prosthetics, Stability of Implants
Prevents Jawbone recession
Prevents Mouth Sores & Gum Irritation

Benefits to Dental Implants

It feels like a natural tooth

Denture Patients & Implants

Patients who currently wear a traditional denture can experience a truly life-changing event with the placement of dental implants. Dental implants can be placed into the jawbone under the denture in these individuals, allowing for the denture to snap into place.

This treatment can help the patient regain the ability to eat virtually all foods and smile confidently, knowing the denture is secured snugly in the mouth. No more worries about dentures falling out while speaking or at family events!

Additionally, suppose there is a desire to get rid of the denture completely. In that case, affordable dental implants can provide a tooth replacement option where the denture is screwed into the implants and becomes fixed in the mouth, and is no longer removable.

How Do Dental Implants Work?

Dental implants fuse into the surrounding jawbone through a process known as Osseointegration. This allows the dental implant to function as a fixed and stable system to support artificial teeth.

Compared to conventional means of tooth replacement options like dentures and bridges, dental implants offer several advantages:

Dental implants do not move or shift in the mouth, allowing the patient to eat, talk, and smile without worrying about their dentures falling out or any other discomfort. They feel very natural, just like your natural teeth, and most people forget they even have an implant.
Dental implants are self-supporting. Unlike a bridge, they do not require drilling into or sacrificing adjacent teeth to use them as support. Bridges or the teeth supporting a bridge can also often crack under pressure. Bridges still have a place in dentistry when dental implants are not an option, but since dental implants leave the adjacent teeth alone and are self-supporting, they don’t put any extra stress or strain on the neighboring teeth. This is especially important in people with a heavy bite or who clench or grind their teeth. Dental implants leave the teeth next door to space alone and allow biting forces to be more evenly distributed.
Since dental implants are placed in the jawbone, they preserve the bone structure and, in turn, help maintain the shape of the face.
Dental implants can last almost a lifetime with the proper care and maintenance and do not require frequent replacements like dentures and bridges.
Dental implants are much more comfortable & secure than dentures. One of the things we focus on in periodontics is quality of life. Everyone wants to eat & chew the foods they love, smile in photos and with their families, and not feel like they have to hide dentures or worry about their teeth falling out or getting loose. Dental implants feel like natural teeth, and so they offer the maintenance of very high quality of life.
There is no upper age limit for dental implants. Quality of life is paramount, which becomes even more important in the later years of someone’s life. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed, and we’ve had many patients in their 80s & 90s ask for and successfully receive dental implant treatment to allow them to maintain their smile and comfort and ensure they can enjoy the food they wish to eat.
There is a lower age limit for dental implants. Patients must be done growing, and their jawbones be done growing, to receive implants, so there is a lower age limit. It varies person to person, but the current recommendations are to wait until at least 18-19+ for girls, and usually 20+ for boys before the implant itself is placed.
Dental implants can be used to replace single or multiple missing teeth. Patients who have no teeth can opt for snap-in dentures mounted on multiple dental implants in the upper and lower arch to help make dentures much more secure & comfortable compared to the conventional kind.

Evaluation

Although most people missing a tooth (or multiple teeth) are candidates for dental implants, a thorough evaluation will need to be performed to determine your individual needs. At this evaluation, Dr. Johnson will thoroughly discuss your treatment desires and goals, including how affordable dental implants could help you achieve these goals.

We will complete a detailed clinical and radiographic evaluation to assess the site into which a dental implant(s) would be placed. We will then discuss the individual’s specific needs in detail to help an informed decision be made.

Dental Implants Procedure

For an implant to be successful, the dental implant needs to be surrounded 360-degrees by good strong bone & gum tissue. Bone grafts are very commonly needed. Gum grafts are sometimes needed.

Our periodontal specialists will help determine if any grafting is needed in your case.