Home Health The Journey to a New Smile: Your Guide to Dental Implant Treatment

The Journey to a New Smile: Your Guide to Dental Implant Treatment

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Losing teeth is a common problem, but there is a lot more at risk than just a visible gap between your teeth. Chronic tooth loss can have a debilitating effect on your oral health due to compromised mastication, in addition to poor aesthetics.  This can negatively impact your self-esteem and overall well-being. 

But fret not! The Dental practice in Houston, TX, offered by skilled and qualified oral specialists can help you overcome these challenges through innovative solutions like dental implants. 

An insight into dental implants

Dental implants are devices that are surgically inserted into your jaw bones. These consist of a titanium screw-like post that mimics your natural tooth root. These posts offer the best support, anchorage, and support for permanent replacement teeth like crowns and dentures.  

Types of dental implants

  • Single implants: These implants replace one tooth lost due to caries, trauma, or extraction. A single implant post is inserted into the jawbone that provides anchorage to a porcelain or ceramic crown. 
  • All-on-4 dental implants: These are specialized implants that replace all or most of the teeth lost. Instead of having a single implant post for each tooth, your dentist will provide 4 implant posts to support a full arch of artificial teeth. 
  • All-on-6 dental implants: These implants are similar to all-on-4 implants, but 6 implant posts are inserted into your jawbone for anchorage. 

The procedure involved

Your dentist will evaluate your mouth to check for the number of missing teeth and the health of your underlying bone. Once you are deemed suitable for dental implants, the following procedure is adopted. 

During the first visit

  • You will be given local anesthesia, and your dentist will raise a gum flap and drill holes into your jawbone to insert the implant posts.  
  • The flap will be repositioned after implant insertion, and the area will be sutured.

You will be sent home for healing while the implant post fuses with your jawbone (osseointegration). 

During the second visit

  • Your implants will be evaluated to assess the degree of fusion with the bone through a dental X-ray. 
  • Your dentist will record your full mouth impression and send it to the laboratory for fabrication of your custom-made permanent restoration. 

Third visit

  • The fabricated restoration (crown, bridge, or implant-supported dentures) will be placed over the implant abutment (the part that connects the implant post to the restoration).
  • Your dentist will check your bite and provide recovery instructions. 

Losing teeth can be stressful since it can cause difficulty with chewing, premature aging, damage to adjacent teeth, and negatively impact your smile and appearance. 

But with the invention of dental implants, you can replace lost teeth for complete oral rehabilitation.