Dental Implants

Individual Dental Implants: Long-Term, Stable Tooth Replacement

Damaged or decaying teeth can be extremely painful, embarrassing, and limiting. At the same time, missing teeth can stifle your smile and lower your day-to-day quality of life.

While bridges and partial dentures have long been the answer to individual or paired missing teeth, dental implants are a somewhat recent innovation in the world of dentistry and oral surgery that allow most anyone to have a full, confident smile with a long-term tooth replacement solution.

At Gallatin Valley Surgical Arts, we embrace dental implant technology and truly believe that it is the optimal solution for the vast majority of our patients who have missing teeth or who are facing tooth extraction. With a success rate in the high 90s, we are committed to restoring the full smiles of our patients while making their mouths healthier and more functional.

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are a surgical process that involves placing an implant into the jawbone, mimicking the natural roots of a tooth. A crown is then placed on the implant, resulting in optimal stability and longevity paired with the natural appearance of the required crown.

Dental implants can be most simply thought of as an artificial tooth root that is required when a tooth needs to be replaced. During the procedure, the artificial root is inserted into the jawbone, which will bond naturally to your skeletal structure. This strong anchor allows your surgeon to attach a connector to your dental implant to better hold a crown (an artificial tooth crafted to match your natural teeth) in place.

Almost all patients with tooth loss are good candidates for dental implants—a safe, long-term, and reliable solution. Since dental implants look, feel, and function like your regular teeth, you (and others) won’t even know that they are there.

The Benefits of Dental Implants

In recent years, dental implants have gained a huge amount of popularity and become the most common solution for tooth replacement, and it’s easy to see why. The metal implants have many advantages over older tooth replacement technology and over opting not to replace teeth.

Here are just a few:

• They look and feel exactly like natural teeth.
• They are permanent—they do not have to be removed and cleaned.
• They last longer than other solutions.
• They do not affect your speech like other solutions.
• They work with your normal oral hygiene routine.
• They strengthen, not weaken, your jaw.
• They allow you to eat your regular diet without restrictions.
• They don’t involve common day-to-day pain or discomfort like some other solutions.
• They do not alter your facial structure.

The Dental Implant Procedure

The process of getting a dental implant or dental implants depends on your overall health, the health of your mouth, and your dental needs. However, most dental implant procedures follow a simple three-step schedule.

Consultation. The patient meets with the oral surgeon for an initial exam, to review their medical history, and to discuss their wants and needs. If all parties wish to move forward, our surgeon will overview the process and make the required appointments.

Tooth removal. If you have decaying, damaged, or infected teeth, they need to be removed to make way for the implant. Removing damaged teeth can relieve pain and prevent future pain and health concerns.

Implantation. Next, the dental implant, which looks somewhat like a metal screw, is placed in the jawbone directly below the area of your missing tooth. In some cases, the implantation will need to heal before the crown is placed upon it and in some cases a temporary crown will be placed on the implant for a time.

Crown placement. When your implant is ready, a temporary crown will usually be placed onto your dental implant. Following that, a permanent tooth will be affixed to the implant, either via cementing or screwing.

A minority of patients may need the additional step of bone augmentation in order to receive their implants. Bone augmentation is the process of grafting a piece of bone onto the jaw bone in order to strengthen it enough to support the implanted tooth.

With proper care and regular dentist visits, dental implants can last a lifetime.

Dental Implants Compared to Fixed Bridges

Many patients are deciding between dental implants and fixed bridges. We often recommend dental implant for the following reasons:

• Fixed bridges may cause the deterioration of your jaw bone in the area of the bridge, while dental implants can actually strengthen your jaw bone.
• While bridges and dental implants have comparable costs, dental implants cost less to maintain over time and last much longer if properly cared for.
• Bridges require a healthy tooth on each side of the missing tooth as well as altering those healthy teeth in order to place the bridge.
• Fixed bridges may be more apparent to others.
• Fixed bridges may limit the function of your teeth as well as your diet.

Dental Implants Compared to Partial Dentures

Partial dentures are another option for those looking for tooth replacement solutions. Although this might be the right solution for a limited number of patients, dental implants may be a better choice for the following reasons:

• Dentures may involve messy adhesives.
• Dentures must be taken out to be cleaned.
• Dentures may result in the deterioration of jaw bone, while implants prevent jaw bone loss.
• Dentures do not fit as securely as implants and may result in discomfort or pain.
• Those with dentures must follow strict dietary guidelines.
• While dentures are often less expensive than implants, the cost of dentures grows over time and implants add a significant amount of value over dentures.

Schedule a Consultation With Our Team Today

Could a dental implant or dental implants be right for you? The very best way to know is by consulting with an oral surgeon who can listen to your story, examine your teeth, and explain your best options for moving forward. Get started today by contacting our experienced team and scheduling a consultation.