What Are Dental Implants

The dental implant procedure begins with a consultation. We take a look at your mouth, focusing on the area of your mouth where you want the implant. We will take x-rays, CT scans when necessary, and panoramic films of your mouth to help us see what the condition of everything is. We can then determine how much bone density you have and what quality it is, so we can figure out if a bone graft is going to become necessary.

Once we have determined that the site is a good candidate for an implant, we will create a plan of action and set up the surgical appointment. We typically use a local anesthetic to numb the area where we will be performing surgery, as well as providing you with other sedation options to help relieve anxiety and increase comfort.

The first thing we do is to remove any teeth that are in the way, so that we can progress with the procedure. We regularly see damaged teeth still in the way when we go to begin an implant procedure, so we need to remove those teeth first. Most of the time, we need to input a bone graft, called an alveolar bone graft, to help achieve the solid base we need to put an implant in. Once the bone graft is in place, it needs to heal for anywhere from 2–6 months, depending on how weak the bone was when we put it in. For implants going into the upper jaw towards the back of the mouth, sometimes we need to perform a sinus lift. During this procedure, we raise the floor of the sinus cavity and insert a small bone graft to help strengthen the bone, so it can support a dental implant.

Once the bone has been determined to be adequate, we can insert the implant. During surgery, we put the titanium post in your jaw with a drill and some hand tools. We then put a cap over the implant to let it heal and sew the gum back up. This is when the healing begins.

While your implant heals, we can place a temporary crown over the gap for aesthetics, if you want. The length of time an implant will need to heal varies, but it is generally between 2–6 months. The healing allows for osseointegration to occur, but great care is required, so avoid putting any pressure on the implant. We will have a few follow-up appointments with you to check on the surgical site and to make sure that you are not getting any infection at the implant site.

Following healing, we test out the implant to ensure osseointegration has occurred. Once we have confirmed the implant is strong and secure, we screw on a prosthetic component, called an abutment. This abutment holds the new tooth that you will use to chew. We take a mold of the abutment and the surrounding teeth, then create a final restoration (such as a dental crown) that is customized to fit in your mouth. Once the restoration is complete, we cement or screw it to the abutment, and you can use it just like a real tooth.