DENTAL IMPLANTS

Missing any number of teeth can take a toll on your quality of life and your oral health. Dental implants, a popular restorative dentistry treatment technique, provide several highly effective solutions to replacing missing teeth and restoring smiles to their complete form, function, and beauty.

What Are Dental Implants?

A dental implant is a restorative dental prosthetic used to securely support a dental restoration to replace one or more lost teeth.

Dental implants consist of three basic components:

• Implant Anchor - The anchor is a screw-like prosthetic made of biocompatible metal. The anchor is implanted directly in the jawbone to mimic a natural tooth's root system and provide a secure, permanent support structure.
• Implant Abutment - Also made of biocompatible metal, the abutment connects to the anchor and is designed to support a restoration.
• Permanent Dental Restoration - The restoration is the only visible portion of a dental implant that replaces the portion of a missing tooth located above the gum line. Usually made of highly durable tooth-colored porcelain, restoration options include dental crowns, dental bridges, or full or partial dentures.

What Are the Benefits of Smile Restoration with Dental Implants?

While there are several options for replacing missing teeth, such as dental bridges and traditional dentures, dental restorations supported by implants offer several benefits and advantages over treatment alternatives.

• Lifetime Tooth Replacement - Dental implants are designed to last a lifetime. With proper ongoing oral hygiene and care, this investment in your oral health should never need to be replaced.
• Enhance Your Smile - Implant-supported dental restorations are designed to look beautiful and natural. Whether you're replacing one, several, or all of your teeth with an implant-supported restoration, your treatment will be custom-designed to blend in with remaining natural teeth while enhancing your overall features and bone structure.
• Work and Feel Like Natural Teeth -  An implant-supported dental restoration is the only tooth-replacement treatment option that works and feels exactly like your natural teeth.
• Support Jawbone Health - When a natural tooth is lost, the jawbone beneath the missing tooth begins to degenerate. Over time, this can harm the health of remaining natural teeth, alter your bone structure, and change your physical appearance. Dental implants prevent jawbone degeneration, supporting ongoing oral health and preserving your facial features.
• Versatile Treatment Options - Dental implants can be used to support a variety of different types of prosthetic dental restorations. As a result, they can be used in a variety of treatment cases.
  • Paired with dental crowns, implants replace teeth on a one-for-one basis.
  • Paired with a dental bridge, one or two implants can replace several consecutive missing teeth.
  • Paired with a full or partial denture, a number (four, six, or eight) of strategically placed dental implants can replace all or most of a patient's teeth.

What to Expect: The Treatment Process with Dental Implants

The process of restoring a smile with dental implants is a little different for every patient. Primarily, it varies depending on the patient's current jawbone health and structure, oral health, remaining teeth, and the type of dental restoration required.

Consultation

The process always begins with a consultation which includes an oral examination, diagnostic images, and the treatment plan design process.

Treatment Preparation: Bone Grafting and Tooth Extraction

Some patients might require tooth extraction or bone grafting prior to treatment with dental implants. These procedures take place and are followed by periods of healing and/or bone generation before treatment begins.

Implant Placement

Dental implant placement is a minor oral surgical procedure that usually takes place with the use of local anesthesia and sedation dentistry designed to help patients stay comfortable and relaxed during the procedure.

Healing and Osseointegration

After the implant anchor has been placed, a period of healing will occur. During this time, the anchor osseointegrates with the jawbone, forming a strong and secure bond.

Abutment Placement

After fully healed, the abutment will be attached to the anchor. Depending on how a patient's soft tissues have healed after the implant placement, this procedure might require a short period of healing.

Dental Restoration Placement

Once fully healed, we securely and permanently attach the patient's custom-designed dental restoration to the implant abutment, completing the treatment process.

Are Dental Implants Right for You? Schedule a Smile Restoration Consultation in Campbell, CA

If you are missing one or more teeth, you don't have to suffer with a diminished quality of life. Instead, we encourage you to consider smile restoration with dental implants. To find out if dental implants are the right treatment option for you, we welcome you to contact Inspira Advanced Dentistry today.

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