Dental implants are strong and beautiful, giving you a natural-looking and long-lasting solution for missing teeth, whether you need to replace one or all of them.
There’s a trade-off for such exceptional results: Implants require several trips to the office and may take months before the process is finished and you have a fabulous new smile.
Why does it take time, and what happens when you get implants? In this blog, the dental implant experts at Oasis Dental Team explain the steps and what to expect.
The first step is a thorough dental checkup. In addition to checking your overall dental health, we evaluate your gums and use X-rays to assess your jawbone and plan where to place implants.
We may need to repair problems before moving forward with implants, such as:
Your bone must be strong enough to support the implant. You'll need a bone graft if the bone has lost density and weakened, usually due to dental infections or osteoporosis.
We place bone graft material next to the jawbone. The graft stimulates new bone growth, giving your jaw the strength it needs for an implant. Bone growth takes several months, and you’ll need to wait for the bone to heal before we can give you a dental implant.
We may need to remove damaged or decayed teeth. However, we can insert the dental implant right after extracting the teeth — as long as your gums and bone are healthy.
The dental implant resembles a screw-like post that we surgically place into the jawbone. During this step, we use sedation dentistry to ensure your comfort, cut a small incision in the gum (often using laser dentistry), and drill a tiny starter hole in the bone.
We place the implant into the bone and close the incision. The implant consists of a medical-grade metal that naturally integrates with the bone. New bone grows around the implant, making it as secure and strong as your original tooth root.
The number of implants you receive depends on whether you need one or more single crowns, a bridge, or dentures. Each crown uses one implant, bridges attach to two, and dentures may need four or more.
The bone takes 2-6 months to grow and bond with the dental implant. The time frame varies because each person heals at a different pace.
Because we can’t attach your new tooth to the implant until the bone heals, we give you a temporary crown, bridge, or dentures to wear while you’re waiting.
The abutment is a metal piece that goes on top of the implant. While the implant is below your gum line, the abutment rises above it, giving us a place to attach your new prosthetic tooth.
Once the abutment is in place, we make an impression of your mouth and use it to create a prosthetic tooth that perfectly fits your mouth.
In some cases, we can attach the abutment during step 2 after inserting the implant, allowing you to jump from step 3 to step 5.
When your prosthetic teeth are ready, you make one final office visit. We cement crowns, bridges, and fixed implant-supported dentures to the abutments. You can also choose removable dentures that snap on and off of the implants.
Though getting implants may seem like a long process, your results are worth the wait. Call Oasis Dental Team in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvannia, or book an appointment online to learn how dental implants can transform your appearance and give you the confidence of a vibrant, healthy smile.
