If you have decided that dental implants may be a good option for you, the first step is a consultation at our office. During this visit, we will determine whether or not you are a good candidate for a dental implant.

A good implant candidate typically has the following:

• Is in good over-all health
• Their gums are healthy with no existing periodontal disease
• Their jawbone has enough density to hold the implant
• They are committed to good oral hygiene
• They get regular dental checkups

If you have all of these characteristics but are unsure of your bone density because you lost your tooth (or teeth) several years ago, implants may still be a viable option. In some cases, we may recommend bone grafting where an incision is made in your gum, a bone substitute product is inserted in the area that needs to be rebuilt, it is then covered with a special healing cover and your gum is sutured. After several months, the bone substitute product is absorbed and replaced with natural bone. When the healing process is complete, the implant procedure can be done.

A dental implant which replaces one tooth has three parts:

1. A titanium screw that is imbedded in your jawbone
2. An abutment which protrudes above the gum line to hold the artificial tooth
3. The crown which looks, feels and functions like a normal tooth

If dental implants are being used to secure a bridge, partial dentures or full dentures, these structures are secured to the abutment as well. Depending on the bridge or partial, more than one implant may be needed to secure the prosthesis and when a full denture is involved, four or more implants are usually required.

To begin the implant process, an incision is made in your gum tissue to expose the bone where the implant will be placed, and a small hole is drilled into your bone at the place where the screw will be inserted. This procedure is done in our office with local anesthetic. Once the hole is drilled, it is carefully widened to the appropriate size for holding the implant screw. The screw is then placed into your jawbone and over time, the bone will grow into the grooves of the screw. An abutment which pokes up through the gum tissue is placed at the time that the screw is implanted and a temporary tooth that will allow you to eat and chew normally will be placed on the abutment.

When the titanium screw has been placed in your bone, a process called osseointegration begins where the implant actually becomes a part of your jawbone. This process can take from three to six months depending on your individual health and bone quality and density. When your bone and gum tissue are healed and the osseointegration has taken place, the temporary tooth will be replaced by a permanent ceramic crown that will last for your lifetime.

If you are replacing one tooth, the crown will be secured onto the abutment and will look, feel and function just like a normal tooth. If implants are being used to secure bridges, partials or dentures, the framework for the dental prosthesis will be designed with attachments that will fit securely onto the implant. Full and partial dentures that are implant-supported can be easily removed for cleaning.

While there is some discomfort as your jawbone heals, implant surgery in the process, is not painful. And the long-term benefits are many: good oral health, comfort, improved appearance, the integrity of your facial structure is not compromised from missing teeth and implanted teeth or implant-supported bridges, partials or dentures look, feel and function like natural teeth.

When you lose a tooth to either extraction or trauma, the tooth root is no longer in the jawbone keeping it and your gum tissue stimulated and alive. After the tooth root has been gone for a while, the bone begins to resorb (deteriorate) and bone loss occurs. When a tooth is replaced using traditional methods such as dental bridges, an artificial tooth fills up the space where your tooth once was, but the gum and jawbone are still missing the tooth root. And when traditional bridges are used to replace a missing tooth, the bridge is stabilized by attaching to the adjoining teeth, which can eventually weaken them or even cause decay.

Dental implants eliminate all of the side effects that can be a part of replacing a tooth with traditional methods. An implant is a titanium screw that is placed in your jawbone where the missing tooth root once resided. Even though a screw is used, it is not ‘screwed’ into your bone; instead, the ridges of the screw grow into the bone in a process called osseointegration where the implant actually becomes a part of your jawbone, taking the place of the missing tooth root. Because the implant joins with the bone, the jawbone and gum tissue react to it in the same way that they did to your tooth root, and they remain healthy. In fact the bone that holds the implant can actually become more dense and you won’t experience bone loss or gum recession.

A dental implant has three parts: the screw that is placed in the jawbone; an abutment that protrudes above the gum to hold the artificial tooth; and the crown or artificial tooth that looks, feels and functions like a natural tooth. Once the implant is placed, it usually takes a while for the gum to heal and the implant to secure in the bone. In some processes, the abutment is placed at a later date when an incision is made into the gum to join the abutment with the implanted screw. In other procedures, the abutment is attached to the implant at the same time that the screw is placed in the jawbone. When healing has taken place, the artificial tooth is placed on the abutment. We will recommend the method that is best for you.

If your original tooth has been gone for some time before an implant is done, you may already have experienced some bone loss. If this is the case, we can do what is called a “ridge modification” where your gum is lifted away from your bone ridge and bone or bone substitute is placed in the indented area where the bone loss has occurred. The incision in your gum is closed and the area is allowed to heal and the bone to regenerate. This process usually takes about four to twelve months at which time an implant can be placed in the regenerated bone.

With a thorough examination, we will be able to tell you whether or not you are a candidate for an immediate dental implant or if ridge modification will be needed in order to prepare your bone for the implant procedure.

Thanks to modern dental technology, a missing tooth no longer needs to negatively impact your oral health. With the use of a dental implant, your mouth won’t even realize your tooth is gone!

Losing one tooth or many teeth can have a very negative effect on your overall health and even the way that you look, smile, speak, relate to food or just feel about yourself in general. But replacing that tooth or those teeth with dental implants can fill out your face if it looks ‘sunken’ because of missing teeth, help you smile more, speak with ease, eat anything you want and have improved confidence about the way you look and feel. In fact, dental implants look and feel so natural that you may forget that you even lost a tooth (or teeth) in the first place.

Dental implants have been used for decades to replace teeth or secure a dental prosthesis. Dental implants are titanium screws or cylinders that are surgically inserted into your jaw bone and act as an artificial tooth root by stimulating your jaw bone and keeping it healthy and by actually fusing with your bone in a process that is called “osseointegration.” Because the implant fuses with your bone, it becomes a permanent structure in your mouth to which the artificial tooth, bridge, partial or full dentures are attached and this permanent structure allows the dental prosthesis to function like a natural tooth.

If just one or a couple of teeth are replaced with dental implants, they become permanent in a patient’s mouth; however, if the implants support partial or full dentures, the dentures can easily be removed for cleaning. And unlike traditional dentures, when implants are used to secure an upper denture, the prosthesis only covers the gums and jaw bone, leaving the roof of the mouth open which means that the thousands of tiny taste buds that are in that area of the mouth can be activated when you eat which results in being able to more fully taste and enjoy your food.

Although dental implants can be placed in most patients, those who are the best candidates for successful implants are people who are in good overall healthy with a strong jaw bone and healthy gums. If any periodontal disease is present in your gums, it will need to be treated and healed before implant surgery can take place. For patients who currently wear dentures, two or more implants can be inserted to stabilize and secure the denture or partial denture.

Dental implants provide the following benefits:

They look, feel and function like real teeth

A patient is able to speak clearly because implant supported teeth or dentures fit securely and replace missing teeth that can affect the way a person speaks

Eating with dental implants is the same as eating with your natural teeth

The implants are good for your mouth and overall health because they keep your jaw bone and gum healthy

Self-esteem is improved because of the way you look and feel

With the ongoing successful use of dental implants, patients no longer have to endure the effects of missing teeth, bridges or partial dentures that negatively impact the integrity of surrounding teeth or loose or slipping full dentures. Because of dental implants, patients of all ages can now enjoy a full set of secure, natural functioning teeth throughout their entire lives.

Kind regards,

Dr. Anasinski