Dental Implants FAQ
Dallas, TX
 The loss of one or more teeth can lead to serious changes in the way you eat and speak. Patients can choose traditional dental crowns, dental bridges, and dentures, but these will affect the teeth adjacent to the current missing ones. With dental implants, we will not need to involve other teeth. Dental implants are placed directly into the jaw to replace the natural tooth root. We will need to check your jaw structure before approving dental implant surgery. Dallas Prosthodontics has different types of dental implants available, which we can explain more about in your appointment.
Dental Implant Options
The preferred type of dental implant is the endosteal implant. This uses both the jaw and the gum as a support structure, making it the sturdier of our two options. For patients whose bones are not healthy or strong enough to support endosteal implants, we will use subperiosteal implants. These implants only utilize the gum for support, so they will function, but they will not be as sturdy. Each implant is shaped the same, with each looking like a small screw. Every dental implant is made of titanium as well. Our experts at Dallas Prosthodontics will help you achieve a natural-looking dental restoration.
Dental Implant Process
The dental implant process, from start to finish, can take up to six months. At the initial consultation, our dentist can obtain dental x-rays and provide a visual exam to determine if your jawbone can support endosteal implants. If not, there are two options that you have. You could get subperiosteal implants or you could get a bone graft or modification to strengthen the bone structure. We generally use either a sinus augmentation, also called a sinus lift, or a ridge modification to do this. Sinus lifts increase the area available for bone grafts while ridge modifications change the current bone structure.
For your first procedure, we will place the implant by making a tiny incision in your gum where the empty space is. We will cut a hole into the bone and place the dental implant in the hole. We then close your gum over the dental implant and give it time to heal. This is the longest part of the process, taking several months. At this time, the bone will grow around the implant to give it a form-fitting structure.
Once your healing is complete, we will bring you back in so that we can place the abutment, the connection piece to the implant. We will reopen the gum and place the abutment before collecting dental impressions. Our dentist uses dental cement, which can solidify under a special light, to attach the abutment to the implant.
Dental impressions are used by our dental lab to create a custom restoration. As soon as we receive your individual crown, bridge, or full denture, we can bring you in for placement. Once again, dental cement is used to hold it in place.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Tooth implants have numerous benefits aimed at restoring one's dental health. They give a realistic and natural look and feel to your oral cavity and help preserve the health and position of surrounding natural teeth. Since they are replacement teeth for extracted teeth sites, be it single tooth replacement or multiple tooth replacement, they help prevent neighboring teeth from shifting. Since dental implants are permanent, there is no additional care like in removable dental prostheses, so they do not require daily maintenance besides normal brushing and flossing. Unlike dentures, dental implants provide improved comfort, eating, and speech as they will not slip around in the mouth.
Dental implants fill up empty spaces in the mouth, and this improves one's appearance and therefore helps improve your self-esteem and confidence. Single tooth implants allow enough access between your teeth, important when brushing and flossing. They do not require any alternation to the nearby teeth.
Who is a Candidate?
For those patients who have dealt with tooth loss brought on by either trauma, decay, or disease, it can change their self-image. Without the supportive structure of the teeth and gums, the lips and cheeks will sag considerably making them appear gaunt and unhealthy. Dental implants will impact this immediately by restoring the lost supportive structure. While this solution is an excellent one it is not recommended for every patient. There are risk factors which might make some patients ineligible for the procedure.
Those with a good level of overall medical health along with those who exhibit good oral hygiene habits are considered good candidates. However, those patients who do not have enough supportive bone mass in their upper or lower jaw are not considered good candidates, at least intially, because implants require a minimal amount of bone mass in order to be successfully placed. Bone grafts and other procedures may be required before attempting dental implantation.
Are Dental Implants a Good Choice?
Some of the risk factors will seem obvious but others are not. These risk factors can impact whether a patient is eligible for dental implants or not. The age of the patient is one of those factors. As we age, our bone mass is lost slowly in all areas of our body. Some might lose more mass than others. The same concern is given to those patients who have gone through radiation treatment which can also cause bone mass loss. Those who are going through menopause can also have less bone mass than others. Those patients who abuse alcohol are not considered good candidates either. The use of tobacco products also makes a patient a higher risk than those who do not.
While these factors are important to address when considering dental implant surgery, it does not necessarily mean they are not eligible. It simply implies that those things will need to be taken into consideration when placing the implants.
Alternative Treatments
Those who have low bone mass can look to mini-implants or the All-on-4 Treatment Concept as an alternative. Mini-implants are small versions of normal implants and are not inserted as deeply into the bone. The All-on-4 concept inserts implants at an angle which means they do not require as much bone mass either.
Any patient who is thinking about getting dental implants but is not sure if they are a good candidate or not should come down to our office at Dallas Prosthodontics for an evaluation. We are also available by phone at (972) 503-7200.
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