‘Tis the season to be thankful for everything you have, including your family, friends, and of course, your health. But if you can’t enjoy the holidays like you used to due to missing teeth, it can make this time of year difficult to appreciate. Here’s how durable, lifelike dental implants can permanently close those unsightly gaps in your grin, allowing you to once again dine on all those delicious favorites you’ve had to hold off on with an incomplete smile!
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are the world’s only permanent tooth replacement solution. They work by surgically attaching to your jawbone, where they are connected to a crown, bridge, or denture that with proper care could stay securely in place for a lifetime. Because they provide important jawbone stimulation, they also prevent bone deterioration and further tooth loss, and they can even restore your biteforce so you can once again enjoy a variety of delicious, nutritious meals you may have had to give up due to missing teeth!
As for how to maintain your new smile, that’s easy too! In fact, your prosthetics can be brushed and flossed just like real teeth, and since they don’t come out you won’t need to worry about soaking them, dropping them, or having them slip out of place in an inopportune moment!
Do I Qualify for Dental Implants?
To get dental implants, you must be in sufficient oral health. If you have gum disease, or if you have experienced significant jawbone deterioration, these conditions will need to be treated first. Furthermore, should you require any extractions, you should be healed from those as well before beginning dental implant treatment.
When Can I Expect My New Smile to Be Ready?
If you require any preliminary treatments before getting dental implants, you’ll need to allow time to recover from those before your procedure can proceed. These can sometimes add several weeks or months to your total timeline.
Dental implant surgery itself is usually only a few hours; however, before you can complete your treatment and get your final restorations, your posts will need to fuse with the jawbone via a process known as osseointegration. In most cases, this takes between three and nine months. Then, once complete, you’ll need a second, minor procedure to place the abutments on your posts. Recovery from this will take an additional two weeks, and then you’ll be ready for the main event: the placement of your new crown(s), bridge, or denture!
All in, you can expect your treatment to take between six months to a year; however, it can sometimes be longer if you need preliminary care. The good news is that if you get started today, you could be rocking a healthy, beautiful, complete smile by next Thanksgiving, allowing you to once again give thanks for all the nutritious, delicious foods you’ve been missing without a full set of teeth!
About Our Practice
At iSmile Dental, our team of caring and talented dentists are thankful to have you as a patient, and for the ability to restore your gorgeous grin with permanent, lifelike dental implants. Whether you’re missing one or a whole arch of teeth, these incredible restorations can once again allow you to enjoy a full diet, clear speech, and a beautiful, confident smile. To learn more about this treatment and see if you qualify, schedule a consultation for dental implants today by visiting our website or calling 817-419-9009.