Dental Implants — Millersville, MD
The Gold Standard for Tooth Replacement
Patients who have missing teeth do not have to despair that they will never find a suitable tooth replacement. Dental implants offer a wonderful method for completing a smile no matter how many teeth are missing. Considered to be the only comprehensive method of tooth replacement; dental implants look, fit, and feel just like your natural teeth. We are pleased to offer dental implants in Millersville. Keep reading or give us a call to find out how they work and whether or not you can benefit from dental implants from our Millersville, MD dentist!
Why Choose Transcendent Smiles for Dental Implants?
- Placement Performed by In-House Periodontist
- Restore Your Implant with Tooth-Colored Ceramics
- Dentist Builds Dedicated Relationships with Patients
What Are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is technically a titanium post that integrates with the bone and soft tissue inside your jaw. However, it also tends to refer to the restoration that completes your smile as well as the abutment that connects the restoration to the implant. Together, it provides a long-lasting tooth replacement that you can rely on for many decades. On top of that, its function far surpasses other tooth replacement methods, including dental bridges and dentures. For this reason, dentists often recommend them to patients who are eligible compared to more traditional solutions, despite their higher upfront cost.
The Dental Implant Process
Dental implants in Millersville are the most reliable tooth replacement option with over a 95% success rate. Their ability to last for several decades relies on creating the ideal foundation for your new smile and the strategic placement of your implant posts. As a result, you can’t expect to undergo the entire procedure in just one day. Instead, your treatment consists of multiple stages, each of which is vital to promoting the long-term viability of your smile.
Initial Consultation
Before your placement surgery, you need an initial consultation to ensure dental implants are right for you. Besides a visual examination, we need to take digital X-rays and a CT scan to see your oral structures in their entirety. With a complete picture, we can determine if you need additional treatments before placing your implant posts, such as tooth extractions, bone grafting, or a sinus lift. Although these treatments may lengthen your journey to a complete smile, they are vital to laying the groundwork for the success of your dental implants.
Dental Implant Surgery
After you’ve healed from any additional treatments, you’re scheduled for your dental implant surgery. We use the previous CT scan and images to predetermine the ideal location for your implant posts. We then use computer-guided technology to strategically place them into your jawbone through oral surgery.
In some dental offices, dentists will ask patients to visit a separate oral surgeon to have the implant placed into the jaw. This requires traveling to another dental office and working with a dental professional that, while trained to perform surgery, is not as well-known to the patient. We can place implants at Transcendent Smiles! This means you won’t have to travel to other dental offices and you can complete your entire implant procedure with the people you’ve already built relationships with.
Sedation or anesthesia is used to ensure your comfort as your gum tissue is opened to expose your jawbone. Small holes are created in your bone to insert the posts in their precise locations. Your gum tissue is sutured closed, and you can head home to begin the healing process.
Osseointegration & Abutment Placement
Dental implants mimic your tooth roots, stimulating your jaw to encourage new bone growth. Over the next several months, your jawbone fuses to the posts through a process called osseointegration. After your jawbone integrates with the posts, they have the potential to remain in place for life with the right aftercare, like maintaining your oral hygiene and visiting your dentist in Millersville at least twice a year.
Delivery of Final Restoration
Once we receive the final dental crown, bridge, or denture, you’ll return to our team, so we can attach your restoration to the dental implant posts. We’ll perfectly color-match the restoration to your smile, and you’ll be able to rely on it whether you are speaking, eating, or just showing off your smile for the camera. You’ll even be able to maintain it just like your natural teeth using consistent brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits.
The Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants in Millersville offer significant advantages compared to other options in tooth replacement, like traditional bridges and dentures. Because the prosthetics are affixed to dental implant posts that have been surgically placed beneath the gum line, they have a sturdy foundation to support an active lifestyle. They provide patients with lifelike alternatives to their home-grown teeth that allow them to feel proud letting their smile show.
Day-to-Day Benefits
- Simple Maintenance. Just like with your natural teeth, all you need to do to maintain your dental implants is brush twice each day for two minutes, floss daily, rinse with antimicrobial mouthwash daily, and visit your implant dentist in Millersville once every six months for your routine checkup and cleaning. This will help keep them healthy and functional, so you can enjoy them for decades to come.
- Boosted Confidence. Due to the natural look and feel of your new smile, you’re sure to feel a confidence boost whenever you talk to friends and family members. Also, whenever you eat, you won’t have to worry about embarrassing slipping dentures.
- Dental implants can address a wide array of tooth loss situations. Whether you’re missing one tooth or an entire arch, chances are, you’ll only need one treatment when you invest in dental implants and continue maintaining your oral health.
Health Benefits
- Stability & Enhanced Biting Power. Since your dental implants will be fused with your jawbone, they’ll provide an incredibly strong and stable foundation for your prosthetic. That way, you won’t have to worry about your replacement teeth moving in your mouth, making basic tasks like chewing your food and speaking harder than ever.
- Jaw & Oral Health Preservation. Due to dental implants’ ability to fuse with the jawbone through the process of osseointegration, you won’t have to worry about jawbone deterioration. This is because they will provide necessary stimulation and blood flow to the area. In addition to this, a complete smile can often be easier to clean, helping you reduce your risk of oral health issues down the road.
- Healthier Lifestyle & Diet. Thanks to your enhanced chewing abilities, you’ll be able to continue eating all of your favorite foods with dental implants, like crusty breads and steak. That way, you can maintain a well-balanced diet.
Long-Term Benefits
- High Treatment Success Rate. Dental implants boast an impressive 95 percent success rate, even after 10 years of placement! With the proper maintenance, they can last for over 35 years!
- Youthful Appearance. Because dental implants can keep your jawbone from deteriorating, you won’t have to worry about developing hollow or saggy-looking cheeks that make you appear older than you actually are. Instead, you’ll be able to maintain the full facial structure that you currently have.
- Long-Lasting Treatment. With routine maintenance and flossing and brushing, dental implants have been shown to last over 35 years. That’s nearly four times longer than traditional prosthetics, like dentures. This will help save you time and money in the long-run.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
It does not matter how many teeth you have lost -- dental implants can provide a wonderful solution for many smiles.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?
With changes and developments in dental implant-related tooth replacement techniques, more patients than ever before are able to receive successful dental implant placement. The best candidates for dental implant tooth replacement will meet all the following criteria:
- Relatively good overall health
- No past negative experiences with surgery
- Good oral health
- Adequate jawbone density and gum tissue volume
Missing One Tooth
For patients missing just one tooth, a single dental implant post can be placed to support an individual crown. This method fills in the gap left by the missing tooth without affecting those around it, as is necessary with a fixed bridge.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Getting dental implants after many teeth have been lost will help to preserve the bone tissue and prevent even further tooth loss from occurring later on. With a few implant posts (depending on the number of teeth that have been lost), a sturdy bridge or partial denture can be held in place.
Missing All Teeth
Dental implants can be used to secure a complete denture in cases when all the teeth have been lost. This option provides excellent stability for a full prosthetic -- something which is difficult to achieve with a traditional denture. A strategic number of dental implant posts can be used to provide a strong foundation for the new teeth.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Dental implants come with a higher price tag compared to other options in tooth replacement, but they are a wise investment. There is no fixed price for dental implants, so you will need to schedule a consultation with your dentist in Millersville to learn just what you can expect to pay for your tooth replacement.
Making Dental Implants Affordable
In order to help more patients get access to innovative dental implant supported tooth replacement options, our team works with patients to help them budget for the cost of dental care. Even though the price of dental implants is not usually covered by dental benefit plans, the costs of other aspects of dental care are likely to receive insurance coverage. We can also work with third-party financiers to offer low and no interest payment plans for the costs of your dental implant supported tooth replacement plan.
The price of dental implant procedures can be affected by the following factors:
- The extent of the tooth loss and how many dental implants are required
- The health of the jawbone, which indicates whether a preliminary bone graft is needed
- Where in the jaw the teeth are located
- What the dental implants are made of
- Other considerations, like anesthesia and sedation
No matter the cost of your dental implants, remember that nothing replaces missing teeth better. And, with convenient financing options available, this tooth replacement can fit into most budgets.
Dental Implant Frequently Asked Questions
Before you buy a car, house, or any other significant investment, you would want to know everything about it, right? Well, the same principle applies to getting a significant procedure like dental implants. We completely agree! You should understand all the ins and outs of the procedure and feel absolutely confident in your treatment choice. That’s why we’re providing answers to some common questions we get about dental implants.
Are Dental Implants Safe?
Absolutely! Although dental implants are made of metal, they are completely safe to use inside the body. In fact, the biocompatible titanium used in dental implants is the same material used for hip or knee replacements. It stimulates bone growth and becomes fully integrated into the structure, creating a strong bond. That’s how dental implants are able to support the dental prosthetics so well over many years. You don’t have to worry about these replacement teeth slipping or coming loose, so you can eat, laugh, speak, and smile with complete confidence.
How Successful are Dental Implants?
An overwhelming majority of the time, dental implants are placed successfully. In fact, even after ten years, 90 percent of dental implants are still feeling natural and working well for patients. Many factors contribute to this high success rate, including the expertise of the dental professional placing the implant, the thoroughness of the diagnostic work performed before the procedure, and the quality of aftercare following placement. Luckily, we have a skilled professional on staff who has years of experience and a steady, gentle touch that will make the process go as smoothly and comfortably as possible.
What Can Cause Dental Implant Failure?
Even though it is rare, dental implant failure can happen. After all, all surgery includes some risks. Basically, implant failure occurs when the bone and tissue don’t keep the post in place. For example, if you have an infection when a dental implant is placed, chances are that the bone and tissue will not be able to support the implant. Also, you need to give your bone and tissue sufficient time to heal and surround the post before putting the abutment and prosthetic on top of it. Otherwise, it might not have enough strength to sustain the replacement tooth. In the long term, improper maintenance can eventually lead to implant failure.
Dental Implant Post-Op Instructions
During the time your jawbone is healing, it’s best to reduce your risk of any complications, like an infection. Maintain your oral hygiene habits but be careful when cleaning around the surgical sites to avoid causing any irritation. It’s also best to avoid smoking, which can impact your body’s ability to heal and fight infections.
After your initial placement surgery, it’s normal to experience some pain and tenderness. You can manage your discomfort using over-the-counter pain relievers. Apply cold compresses to the outside of your face for 10-minute intervals to help reduce any swelling or bruising. It’s best to eat soft foods until your discomfort subsides.
Maintaining & Caring for Your Dental Implants
Although placing your dental implants entails an advanced, complex, and surgical procedure, taking care of your dental implants is actually quite straightforward. Basically, you maintain them just as you would your natural teeth. That means brushing at least twice a day, flossing at least once daily, and visiting our dental office twice every year for your dental checkup and cleaning. It’s that simple!