Dental Implants
When it comes to tooth replacement appliances, there are removable and permanent options that you can choose from. At Horizon Dental, we offer dental implants as a way to place restoration pieces permanently. If you have missing teeth, please keep reading to learn more about what restorative options are available and why it is beneficial to utilize dental implants.
What is an Dental Implant?
We surgically place a titanium screw into the jawbone, beneath the gums, to create a dental implant. The screw then attaches to a customized restoration using an abutment. Once the implant integrates with the bone and your gums heal, we finalize the restoration.
Implants act as the new root of the tooth replacement through supporting them and increasing or maintaining the density and health of the jaw bone. When we chew, stimulation travels through the crowns, down to the root, and then into the bone. The lack of stimulation from a lost tooth causes the bone to begin disintegrating.
After placing your implants, it takes around six months to heal fully. Once healed, your dental restoration is complete.
Would I Qualify for Dental Implants?
There are only a few qualifications to be a candidate for a dental implant: you have to have missing teeth and have enough bone density to support the implant. If your bone lacks thickness, options such as a bone graft can help your bone prepare to hold the implant.
Restorations
Dental implants typically secure three dental restorations into the mouth
- Dental Crown: The crown of a natural tooth is the entire visible portion, seen without moving any gum tissue. Dental crowns replace the damaged or severely broken outer part of a tooth. We can fabricate a crown entirely out of porcelain and secure it onto an implant for a single missing tooth. Patients who only have a single tooth to replace will use a dental crown.
- Dental Bridge: We use bridges to replace one or more teeth in a row. We anchor bridges onto two natural teeth, called anchor teeth, to hold the replacement tooth in place. We need at least two dental implants to secure a dental bridge, with the implants acting as anchor teeth.
- Dentures: Traditional dentures are held by suction to the gums ridge. The biggest complaint by traditional denture wearers is that they can slip and cause sores. Dentures are now secure in the mouth using either six or four implants on each dental arch. Dentures are created using artificial gums and teeth that give you a new, beautiful smile.
Contact Us
Having a missing tooth or multiple missing teeth can significantly affect how you do many things, such as eating, chewing, and speaking. To take advantage of a permanent restoration that uses dental implants, please call our office Horizon Dental. Are you unsure which restorative piece would be best for your teeth and oral health? We would be happy to help you schedule a consultation appointment.
We look forward to hearing from you and helping you restore your smile to its full potential.