What You Should Know About Implant Dentistry

As a provider of implant dentistry, we provide patients throughout the area with the ability to regain the appearance and functionality of their smile. Losing teeth can be ridiculously challenging. Most people never realize how important their teeth are to daily life until they lose one or several. All of a sudden, smiling and speaking becomes embarrassing. Speech sounds different than it used to, eating becomes a challenge, etc. The entire ordeal can leave people stressed out and unsure of what to do. If you are in this situation, we encourage you to call our Weatherford dental office for a consultation so that we can examine you and present you with solutions to address your tooth loss.

Why we recommend implant dentistry

For anyone who has lost one or several teeth, we recommend implant dentistry as the best way to replace them. The reason is simple and goes by the term, osseointegration. With implant dentistry, we place a titanium post under the gums and secure it to the jawbone. We will complete this surgically, with the patient under anesthesia. The recovery time takes a week or so following the procedure.

Over the course of several months, the jawbone and titanium post will fuse together through the process of osseointegration, making the implant strong and so durable. The jawbone essentially provides the same level of stability to the implant that it provides to the natural tooth. In turn, the implant provides stimulation to the jawbone which serves to prevent resorption. As a result, a dental implant is the most natural way to replace teeth and it can improve the patient's health while restoring a smile.

The process of implant dentistry

Before we can place the implants, we will need to ensure that the patient is in good oral health. If the patient shows any signs of gum disease or infections, we will have those corrected prior to beginning the procedure. On the day of surgery, we will use anesthesia to help the patient not feel any pain and most likely fall asleep. How long the actual procedure takes will depend on how many implants we need to place. To stay comfortable afterward, we recommend that the patient takes ibuprofen, uses an icepack and is careful with eating for several days.

During this time, we will be preparing the new tooth or teeth (dental crowns). We prepare the new tooth by taking measurements and an impression of the mouth. The dental lab will create new teeth that look so natural, they blend in with any of the remaining ones. The results are so perfect and natural looking, that most people cannot tell the difference. We will have the patient come in for that appointment within a couple months of the initial procedure. In the meantime, many people will wear a temporary denture to keep their smile intact.

To learn more about implant dentistry and to find out if you are a good candidate, call us at (817) 885-5214 to schedule an appointment. We are confident that this solution will impress you as it is the most natural looking and durable of all tooth replacement solutions.