Comfort & function of natural teeth
Dental Implants

Patients love dental implants, as they provide a permanent solution to missing teeth over traditional dentures, which are removable. Instead, implants remain inside your mouth, just like normal teeth. If you have a healthy jawbone, you might be a candidate for permanent dental implants.

Dental implants can help:

• Support a denture or bridge to make it more comfortable and secure;
• Restore or replace missing teeth without affecting the adjacent healthy teeth;
• Resolve bite problems caused by teeth shifting into the spaces left by missing teeth;
• Enhance speech, chewing and digestion;
• Provide support for facial tissues.

When you opt for dental implants, you will have to visit your periodontist several times over a few months. It starts with determining whether you are a suitable candidate for the procedure. Some of the criteria include:

• Having one or more missing teeth
• Can’t or won’t wear dentures
• Having healthy oral tissue
• Having reached full growth in your jawbone
• Having sufficient bone – or be able to have a bone graft – to secure your implants and no conditions that can affect bone healing negatively

You cannot have dental implants if you smoke tobacco, and you must be willing to commit several months to the process.

During the early phases, your dentist will take x-rays and molds of your teeth and jaw to determine the available space in the gum tissue, bone and teeth. This is crucial to determining whether you are a suitable candidate for dental implants.

The implant will be surgically inserted into the jaw bone and left to integrate into the bone. Although the wound will heal quickly, it can take as much as six months for the implant to be integrated into the bone and for the bone to fit snugly and securely around the implant.

Different types of implants are available, and some types require a second surgery to place the post that holds the artificial tooth in place. Other types of implants require only one surgery, as the anchor and post are already attached, and therefore, installed at the same time.

Several – usually about two months – weeks later , your new custom-made artificial teeth will be ready to be fitted to the post. Because we want to ensure that your new teeth are comfortable and functional, this process may take a month or so to complete. Once you and your periodontist are both satisfied with the fit and function of your teeth, they will be securely attached to the implant.