Replacing missing teeth is crucial to your long-term oral health. A complete smile prevents tooth migration, which can lead to bite alignment issues and even further tooth loss in the future. Additionally, missing teeth often lead to jawbone loss, leaving you with a sunken appearance around the lower chin and face.
Incidentally, dental implants are the only tooth replacement option that helps preserve your jawbone health!
If you’re considering dental implants in Germantown, MD, and want to know what to expect, continue reading. Afterward, contact our dental team to arrange a dental implant consultation with the dentist.
The Dental implant Process Explained
Dental Implant Consultation and Evaluation
A comprehensive consultation with the dentist is the first step before any tooth replacement or cosmetic dentistry service. This initial evaluation determines whether you’re a good candidate for implant dentistry.
Typically, you’ll receive a thorough exam, x-rays, and have a conversation with the dentist. We want to ensure you understand what’s involved in implant placement and what to expect along the way.
In some cases, you’ll require pretreatments to bring you into candidacy. For example, you may need a bone graft if you have jawbone loss.
This consultation also determines the cost and lays out a timeline for your treatment.
If you proceed with dental implants, the next step is preparing for surgery.
Preparing for Dental Implant Surgery
In most cases, you’ll not have to do anything to prepare for dental implant surgery. After you’ve addressed potential pretreatments with your Germantown, MD, dentist, you can look forward to your surgery.
In the meantime, if you notice any oral health changes leading up to your surgery, you must report these to the dentist. Changes may include tooth sensitivity, a sore that does not heal, or other changes.
We also strongly encourage you to give up smoking before dental implant placement. Tobacco products slow down healing and harm oral and physical health.
Finally, abide by any pretreatment instructions your dentist provides. For example, you may be asked to stop a specific medication the day before treatment.
Dental Implant Placement Surgery
On dental implant placement day, arrive for your appointment, and rest assured you’ll not be in any pain. We use powerful local anesthesia to numb the treatment area and always use a gentle hand when placing your implants.
Dental implants are root replacements made of durable titanium. These roots play an essential role in preserving your jawbone health and creating a solid foundation for replacement teeth or a prosthetic—using four to six dental implant posts, we can secure an entire arch of restoration teeth, sometimes called an implant-supported denture.
Your dentist will rely on image-guided technology to ensure precise implant placement. You will feel the dentist working in your mouth, but you will not feel pain! After placement, your dentist provides aftercare instructions to promote a fast recovery.
Follow all instructions and call our dental office if you have any questions.
For a day or two following dental implant placement, you may experience mild discomfort, but this does not last long and can be treated with an over-the-counter pain reliever like ibuprofen.
Immediately, the dental implant posts will start to integrate into the jawbone, but this is not painful. You’ll not notice the integration, also called osseointegration.
Osseointegration and Dental Implants
A unique feature of dental implants is that they fuse into bone. Typically, integration takes a few months to complete, but when it finishes, you are ready for your replacement teeth or a prosthetic.
Remember, osseointegration supports jawbone health.
Abutment, Dental Crown, or Prosthetic Placement
When integration finishes, you come in for your abutment and tooth crown. We use porcelain for most tooth crowns, and the crown acts as your new tooth. This new tooth is color-matched to your natural teeth and always shaped to complement your smile, offering a natural look and function. We use dental crowns for single implants.
The abutment is first placed over the implant after it has healed and then capped with the crown.
After placement, you can enjoy your smile, diversify your dietary choices, and never worry about relines, adjustments, or shifting implants!
The dental implant process from post-placement to abutment and crown takes approximately three to six months.
Dental Implant Care
Fortunately, you’ll not have to purchase unique products to keep your dental implants healthy. Brush, floss, and visit your Germantown, MD, dentist every six months for preventive checkups.
Your dental implants can remain viable for decades with proper care and good habits. Sometimes, dental implants even last a lifetime.
Dental Implant Procedure in Germantown, MD
The team at Century Dental is pleased to accept CareCredit financing to help you budget your tooth replacement treatment. Call us today to learn more about our services or schedule a tooth replacement consultation with the dentist.