Orange Park dentist, Dentist in Orange Park, FL

Dental Implants

Despite improvements in dental care, millions of Americans suffer tooth loss mostly due to the tooth decay, gingivitis (gum disease), or injury. For many years, the only treatment options available for people with missing teeth were bridges and dentures. But, today, dental implants are available.

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are replacement tooth roots. Implants provide a strong foundation for fixed (permanent) or removable replacement teeth that are made to match your natural teeth.

Dental implants are now considered the standard of care for a single missing tooth where the adjacent teeth are in excellent shape. Implants help maintain bone integrity which allows for proper gum support and better esthetics.

Why should you get dental implants?

Everyone deserves a beautiful smile. With the tremendous advances in esthetic dentistry, there’s no need to put up with anything less. With the implants, a missing tooth can now be easily, comfortably, and permanently replaced.

What Are the Advantages of Dental Implants?

There are many advantages to dental implants, including:

• Improved appearance. Dental implants look and feel like your own teeth. And because they are designed to fuse with bone, they become permanent.
• Improved speech. With poor-fitting dentures, the teeth can slip within the mouth causing you to mumble or slur your words. Dental implants allow you to speak without the worry that your teeth might slip.
• Improved comfort. Because they become part of you, implants eliminate the discomfort of removable dentures.
• Easier eating. Sliding dentures can make chewing difficult. Dental implants function like your own teeth, allowing you to eat your favorite foods with confidence and without pain.
• Improved self-esteem. Dental implants can give you back your smile, and help you feel better about yourself.
• Improved oral health. Dental implants don't require reducing other teeth, as a tooth-supported bridge does. Because nearby teeth are not altered to support the implant, more of your own teeth are left intact, improving your long-term oral health. Individual implants also allow easier access between teeth, improving oral hygiene.
• Durability. Implants are very durable and will last many years. With good care, many implants last a lifetime.
• Convenience. Removable dentures are just that; removable. Dental implants eliminate the embarrassing inconvenience of removing your dentures, as well as the need for messy adhesives to keep your dentures in place.

How Successful Are Dental Implants?

Success rates vary, depending on where in the jaw the implants are placed but, in general, dental implants have a success rate of up to 98%. With proper care (see below), implants can last a lifetime.

Can Anyone Get Dental Implants?

In most cases, anyone healthy enough to undergo a routine dental extraction or oral surgery can be considered for an implant procedure. Patients should have healthy gums and enough bone to hold the implant. They also must be committed to good oral hygiene and regular dental visits.

Heavy smokers, people suffering from uncontrolled chronic disorders – such as diabetes or heart disease – or patients who have had radiation therapy to the head/neck area need to be evaluated on an individual basis. If you are considering implants, talk to Dr. Anish Patel to see if they are right for you.

Does Insurance Cover the Cost of Dental Implants?

In general, implants are not covered by dental insurance at this time. Coverage under your medical plan may be possible, depending on the insurance plan and/or cause of tooth loss. Detailed questions about your individual needs and how they relate to insurance can be discussed with our staff and your insurance provider.

What Is Involved in Getting a Dental Implant?

The first step in the process is the development of an individualized treatment plan. The plan addresses your specific needs and is prepared by a team of professionals who are specially trained and experienced in oral surgery and restorative dentistry. This team approach provides coordinated care based on the implant option that is best for you.

Next, the tooth root implant, which is a small post made of titanium, is placed into the bone socket of the missing tooth. As the jawbone heals, it grows around the implanted metal post, anchoring it securely in the jaw. The healing process can take from 6 to 12 weeks.

Once the implant has bonded to the jawbone, a small connector post – called an abutment – is attached to the post to securely hold the new tooth. To make your new tooth or teeth, Dr. Anish Patel will make impressions of your teeth, and creates a model of your bite (which captures all of your teeth, their type, and arrangement). Your new tooth or teeth are based on this model. A replacement tooth, called a crown, is then attached to the abutment.

Instead of one or more individual crowns, some patients may have attachments placed on the implant that retain and support a removable denture.

Dr. McClure will also match the color of your new teeth to your natural teeth. Because the implant is secured within the jawbone, the replacement teeth look, feel, and function just like your own natural teeth.

How Painful Are Dental Implants?

Most people who have received dental implants say that there is very little discomfort involved in the procedure. Local anesthesia can be used during the procedure, and most patients report that implants involve less pain than a tooth extraction.

After the dental implant, mild soreness can be treated with over-the-counter pain medications, such as Tylenol or Motrin.

Traditional Option Verses State-of-the-Art Solution

Traditional option: 3-unit Bridge

A bridge is used to replace a single missing tooth. Bridges are constructed of metal sub-frames with tooth-colored porcelain applied to approximate the natural color of your existing teeth.

Bridges use the teeth on either side of your missing tooth to provide support for the artificial tooth that fills-in the space where your natural tooth is missing.

The goal of the bridge is to restore chewing function and achieve an acceptable esthetic outcome.

Unfortunately, bone under the replacement tooth is no longer stimulated by chewing and is often resorbed into the body, creating a slowly growing gap between the replacement tooth and the gums.

Key attributes of 3-unit bridges are slightly less expensive; achieve acceptable esthetic outcome, and restores chewing function. The Drawbacks of the 3-unit bridges are it requires grinding down of healthy adjacent teeth, potential for increased risk to the prepared teeth, bone resorption results in compromised esthetics over time, life span of only 5 to 7 years and may contain metal.

The State-Of-The-Art Solution – Single tooth implant

Dental implants often provide a more advance replacement for the missing tooth than a traditional bridge, and preserves adjacent teeth.

Dental implants are small metal screws designed specifically to replace your natural tooth root. Manufactures from titanium, dental implants provide a highly biocompatible surface, encouraging bone to attach to the implant during the healing process to ensure long-term results.

Dental implants do not require the adjacent teeth to be modified. They also create stimulation to the underlying bone.

Restoration with all-ceramic components (crown and abutment) can result in a beautiful, natural-looking, translucent tooth, just like the tooth being replaced.

Key attributes of the dental implant are adjacent teeth remain intact – no grinding required, stimulation restored to underlying bone; bone integrity is preserved, helps maintain long-term, esthetic results, and titanium is strong and naturally accepted by the body.

The drawbacks of dental implants are slightly higher cost than bridge.

How Do I Care for My Implant?

Dental implants require the same care as real teeth, including brushing, flossing, and regular dental check-ups.