What is Involved In Getting Dental Implants?

 

Are you looking for options for replacing your missing teeth? Today, you have many more options than ever before, which means you’ve got a lot to consider. The most effective, natural-feeling and durable solution for tooth loss — for many people although not necessarily for every person — is getting dental implants in Dryden.  The goal in this brief article is to explain who is a good (and not so good) candidate for implants and to describe the process. Use this to help you decide if implants feel like a good fit for your needs, and to prompt questions to discuss with a dentist near you.

Ideal candidates for dental implant surgery are patients who are in good enough overall health to withstand the surgical procedures themselves. You also need to have good oral health, meaning you have no periodontal (gum) disease and a jaw bone with sufficient mass and density to accommodate the implant.

 

People who are poor candidates for implant surgery (at least without additional investigations or preparation to deal with potential risks and complications) include: people who smoke and consume excessive alcohol in the months before and after surgery; pregnant women; patients with Type 1 or 2 diabetes; and people with a compromised immune system.

How to get dental implants in three steps

Before the scheduled date of your surgery, your dentist in Dryden will contact you to make sure you’re prepared for your operation. You may, for example, be given anti-bacterial mouthwash and antibiotics to use and take before your operation. Your dentist will confirm you’ve made arrangements for transportation to and from the clinic on your surgery date and will explain the range of sedation dentistry options available.

Putting the implant in place

Your surgeon will numb your mouth using local anesthesia, and then make an incision in your gums to expose the bone of your tooth. Using a drill and working through that incision, your dentist will remove some material to make room to accept the titanium post that replaces the root of your missing tooth. Once the implant has been placed in your jaw, the incision will be stitched. The second stage will take place a few months later after you’ve recovered from surgery and the implant has bonded to your jaw bone.

Connecting the abutment to your implant

During the second stage of the implant procedure, your dentist will expose the implant by making a small incision in your gum (where it had healed over after the first stage). Once the implant post is exposed, your dentist will attach an abutment to that post. The abutment will fasten your replacement crown to the implant in the third stage. Once the abutment is in place, your dentist will take any impressions necessary to design and prepare your crown.

Connecting your crown to the abutment

The final step in the implant procedure is the attachment of your crown to the abutment that was placed in the second stage. Between the second and third stages, the crown will have been crafted by technicians at a dental laboratory based on the impressions taken by your dentist and as required to blend naturally with your remaining teeth. The process of crafting, fitting, and placing the crown may take multiple appointments.

Receiving dental implants near you is a highly successful process almost always performed and completed without complications. The staff at a dental clinic near you will provide you with detailed instructions and information to ensure you recover fully from each stage of the procedure and return quickly to normal life and dental function.