Dental Implants Dental implants are becoming extremely popular today for so many reasons! Implants offer patients a safe and proven way to replace lost or missing teeth. For patients who have lost a tooth or are missing teeth, implants provide a new foundation to support new teeth. For some people, the natural tooth or teeth were missing since birth and never developed. In other cases, the natural tooth was removed because of deep decay or gum-disease. Regardless of the reason, dental implants offers patients the opportunity to regain normal function and comfort without having a "bridge" or a "denture". Dental implants will revolutionalize your smile, function and life!
Benefits
Tooth and Implant Review
For your review, it should be noted that a natural tooth has two main portions, the root and the crown. The root is the portion of a tooth that is below the gumline within the bone. The crown part of a tooth is the visible white portion that we see when we smile.
Similar to a tooth, a dental implant is also comprised of 2 main parts, the implant fixture and the implant crown. The implant fixture is made of titanium and lies below the gumline within the bone. The implant crown is made of porcelain and attaches (via an abutment connector component) directly to the implant fixture.
Thus, the implant fixture in bone serves as the 'root' foundation to support the new implant 'crown'. In summary, the titanium implant fixture serves as an anchor in the jawbone, which we attach the crown to eat, smile and speak with.
Dental implants are made of titanium, which is regarded by scientists as one of the most biocompatible materials ever. Bone is strongly attracted to titanium, and this is the reason why bone connects to titanium implants. Thus, dental implants are able to bond to bone. This special process is called osseointegration.
To recap, the reason for the "implant-to-bone connection" is because the implants are made of a very special biocompatible material, titanium.
Procedure
The first step of the procedure is surgical placement of the implant(s) into the bone. Under regular dental anesthetic or with sedation, the gum tissue is gently opened and the implant is placed into the jawbone. Once this is achieved, the tissue is then sutured closed. Typically, there is no significant discomfort with this procedure. The time required for the procedure depends on the number of implants being placed. The implant(s) will be left untreated for a period of 3-6 months depending on the hardness of your bone. The stronger and harder bone is, the shorter time that is required for the implant to completely heal and osseointegrate in the bone. During the healing period of 3-6 months, the bone grows around the implant in a process called osseointegration. Depending on the number of implants placed and the number of natural teeth missing, a removable or bonded temporary crown(s) may be utilized during this period to allow for comfortable chewing and to preserve the cosmetic appearance of your smile.
After osseointegration has occurred and the healing is complete, the next step is to attach an abutment to the implant fixture. This is achieved by exposing the top of the implant and placing the abutment. This abutment is the component that connects the final crown restoration to the implant.
As the final step, an impression is taken of the implant, and the final porcelain implant-crown restoration is crafted. This restoration will be comfortable and cosmetically pleasing. Your completed implant will be aesthetic, fully functional and very comfortable, allowing you to resume all normal activities. Ask Dr. Keen about the new advances in implant dentistry. |
Services
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DR. DAVID S. KEEN, D.D.S., M.S. |
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Aesthetic . Restorative . Implant Dentistry |
310.550.6233 |
