What Are Dental Implants?

Implants are metal posts that anchor in and bond with your jawbone, similar to the roots of your natural teeth. They provide a strong, stable base for replacement teeth, which may be fixed or removable, depending on a patient’s needs. With an excellent success rate of over 95 percent, dental implants can be a permanent solution to your oral health issues.

What Should I Expect With Dental Implants?

The entire dental implant treatment process needs a few months for its completion

Dental Implant Placement

The first part of the dental implant procedure is having a metal implant post placed in your jaw bone. Titanium implants mimic the function of a natural root to hold the tooth in place, so chewing and speaking are easier and more natural. This will support your eventual replacement tooth, but needs time (typically between 3-6 months) to heal and bond with the jaw bone.

At this point, you’ll still have a gap where your tooth is missing. A type of partial/removable denture can be placed for appearing, if needed.

Placing the Abutment

The second part of dental implant surgery is placing the abutment. The abutment is something that is put on top of the implant to connect to your crown after the implants heals.

Your dentist will use a dental torque wrench to tighten the abutment into place.

*Depending, you may also need additional surgery to place the abutment.

To place the abutment:

-your oral surgeon reopens your gums to expose the dental implant

-the abutment is attached to the dental implant

-the gum tissue is then closed around, but not over, the abutment.

*In some cases, the abutment is attached to the dental implant metal post when the post is implanted. That means you won’t need an extra surgical step. Because the abutments just past the gumline, however, it’s visible when you open your mouth – and it will be that way until your dentist completes the prosthetic tooth. Some people don’t like that appearance and prefer to have the abutment placed in a separate procedure.

After the abutment is placed, your gums must heal for about two weeks before the artificial tooth can be attached.

Placing the Tooth

The final step in the process is cementing the dental crown over the abutment. Afterward, you can walk out of our office confident in your new, beautiful smile, and the ability to talk and eat normally again. Your new tooth will look and feel natural and must be cared for with daily brushing and flossing, in which you can treat it the same way you treat your natural teeth.

Are Dental Implants Right For Me?

The choice to get dental implants is an individual one, and not all patients may be good candidates for implant surgery. One important consideration is your current dental health, and whether the area in which you are missing teeth has enough healthy jawbone to support implants.

Dr. McCormick can talk with you about your specific situation and assess what the best way to move forward might be. Every implant patient will have an individualized treatment plan developed by Dr. McCormick to restore your smile and provide care for all your dental needs. Reach out to our office to schedule a consultation or for more information.