Missing Teeth? Dental Implants Can Help with That!

Are you self-conscious about your smile because you have missing teeth? Did you know that your bite can be thrown out of alignment and your facial shape could change because of missing teeth? You can replace your missing teeth and get a great smile again with dental implants! A dentist in Lafayette, CA might highly recommend dental implants for you as the right choice to getting back on track and getting that big, beautiful smile once again.

 

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are artificial roots placed in the jawbone to replace missing teeth. You may wonder how the artificial roots stay in place. Well, overtime the bone grows around the artificial roots and that holds the roots in place. The gap is still there, but via a metal connector, the false teeth are attached; revealing a full set of teeth. There are two different types of dental implants – endosteal and subperiosteal. Endosteal are implants that are placed in the bone. They are the most common type of implants, made from material that is safe for the body, and just using one implant can anchor one or multiple teeth. The second type of implant is subperiosteal, which is used when the jawbone isn’t healthy enough to support the endosteal implant. These implants are placed above or on the bone and are not drilled into the bone.

Surgery Time And Recovery

The placement of implants can take a minimum of 3 months or as many as 9 months. The procedure is broken up into multiple appointments to cause as less pain as possible to the patient. A dentist in Lafayette, CA may recommend that you see a range of dental specialists, from a periodontist to an oral surgeon before the procedure is completely done. Implant surgery is broken down into 5 different steps; evaluation (to see if your jawbones are healthy enough for the implant), placing the implant, osseointegration (a 2 to 6 month process of combing the bone), abutment placement (used to connect the implant to the missing teeth), and placing the tooth.

 

Interested In Learning More?

Are you tired of seeing spaces in your teeth or feeling like you can’t smile as big and wide as you want to? Call our doctor, Dr. Andrew Ferrier, DDS, in our office in Lafayette, CA today to scheduling a consultation.