Dental implants are artificial tooth roots that provide a permanent base for attaching replacement teeth. These titanium implants are surgically placed into the jawbone and act as anchors to secure dentures, crowns, bridges or individual replacement teeth. The implant provides a strong foundation for these restoration devices by fusing with the living bone to form an anchor. This process can take several months and allows the patient’s new teeth to look, feel and function just like natural teeth.
With proper care, dental implants can last a lifetime. They offer a great alternative to traditional bridgework because they don’t require neighboring teeth be altered in order to support them; instead, they use your own jawbone for support. Dental implants also help preserve facial structure.
An implant is installed by screwing it into the jawbone, which requires a healthy and dense jawbone. If you have a naturally narrow jawbone ridge or one that is short, narrowed, and worn down due to trauma or disease, you may not have enough bone to support an implant. In this case, Dr. Heravi will build up your bone while placing implant. After your implant healed and attached to your bone, your restorative dentist will make a crown for you.
Speech Improvement:
Speech improvement is one of the major benefits of dental implants. When teeth are missing, it can cause your speech to become slurred or difficult to understand. Tooth loss also impacts the stability of dentures, which can further impede a person’s ability to speak clearly.
Dental implants help improve speech clarity by providing a firm foundation for dentures and/or bridges that fit securely in place. This helps restore the normal functions of teeth like biting and chewing food and forming sounds correctly when speaking.
Additionally, because dental implants provide added support and balance, they reduce any movement of dentures while talking, which makes speech clearer and more comfortable. With proper care, dental implants can last a lifetime and make it easier to improve communication with improved speech.
Improved Self-Confidence:
Dental implants can help you regain your smile and feel better about yourself.
Enhancement Of Appearance:
Dental implants have the appearance and feel of natural teeth. They become permanent because they are designed to fuse with the bone.
Easier Eating:
Chewing can be difficult with sliding dentures. Dental implants function similarly to natural teeth, allowing you to eat your favorite foods confidently and painlessly.
Convenience:
Removable dentures are exactly what they sound like: removable. Unlike dentures, dental implants won’t slip or shift when you talk, chew, or laugh. Additionally, because they become part of the bone structure of your jaw and provide a secure base for replacement teeth, you can brush and floss around them just like natural teeth – no adhesives necessary! Finally, dental implants look and feel just like real teeth, so you can smile confidently knowing that your new teeth look great.
Improved Oral Health:
Individual implants also make it easier to clean the gaps between teeth, making maintenance of oral hygiene easier.
Dr. Heravi will examine your teeth and gums to determine if your jawbone is prepared to receive the single tooth implant.
You need a good bone structure to accommodate the dental implant. If you don’t have sufficient bone structure, Dr. Heravi may recommend a bone graft before the dental implant.
As a trained implant surgeon, Dr. Heravi will cut your gums and drill a hole in your jawbone to attach a titanium post that will serve as the tooth’s root.
Based on the stability of the implant, the crown can be attached at the same day or few weeks later.
Finally, after your jaw is healed, your restorative dentist will take impressions of your teeth and send an order to a dental lab for a dental crown. When the dental crown is returned, the dentist will replace it over the titanium post.
The crown is made of porcelain because porcelain resembles your tooth in color and texture.
An implant-supported bridge is a restorative solution for gaps left by losing three or more adjacent teeth. To support the porcelain bridge, two implants are typically required. The bridge is a functional and aesthetically pleasing replacement for a patient’s natural teeth.
Missing teeth can lead to jawbone breakdown. It changes the overall shape of your face over time, giving you an older appearance. A dental implant can prevent this and ensure a more youthful appearance.
Dr. Heravi would provide an immediate solution if you lost multiple teeth due to trauma, disease, or worsening dental conditions. An implant bridge (multiple crowns) can help you restore your smile.
Dr. Heravi can replace your tooth using the most advanced, cutting-edge dental techniques, regardless of your age or the reason for your tooth loss.
Implant-supported dentures may be an alternative to traditional dentures for patients who are missing many or all of their teeth. This solution necessitates the implantation of two or more implants.
A minimum of four implants are generally recommended to support a complete arch denture at upper jaw and a minimum of two implants are recommended to support a complete denture at lower jaw. Eligibility for this solution is determined by several factors, with jaw bone density being one of the most important.
Traditional dentures are supported by an acrylic base that sits directly on the gums and is held in place by a paste or adhesive. Using implants as denture supports allows for a smaller and more comfortable base and less prosthesis shifting during chewing and talking.
Full and partial dentures and fixed and removable dentures can all be supported by implants. If you choose a removable denture, it will “snap” onto the implant rather than requiring the use of denture paste or adhesives.
A minor oral surgery is required to place the root portion of the implant below the gum line. The procedure takes about an hour and Dr. Heravi will recommend the best type of anesthesia for your specific situation. Once the process is completed, you will be fitted with a temporary prosthetic tooth that will replace your missing tooth for the next few weeks while your mouth heals and the bone in your mouth fuses with the implant. After that, your restorative dentist will place the permanent prosthetic tooth in your mouth.
Dr. Heravi is a board-certified periodontist and implant surgeon and an expert in dental implant surgery and aesthetic implant dentistry. She has performed countless implant procedures including many complex ones.