Dental Implant Questions and Answers

Q: How do I tell if I am healthy enough to have dental implants?
A: Generally speaking, if there is a person well enough to experience the treatment essential for routine tooth extractions or fixed bridgework, dental implant processes can be undergone by exactly the same person. Implant for your finest kind is determined after a thorough examination and discussion with your dentist and periodontist or oral surgeon. Place and the amount of available bone is generally the important determinant regarding which implant system will be used, or whether you are a great implant candidate.

Q: How long will implants last?
A: How long do teeth last? The: should last a lifetime. Nevertheless, we can all sight examples where teeth haven't served for a person's lifetime. We all know that dental problems largely stem from improper home care or insufficient treatment when needed. Precisely the same holds true for implants. With regular dental checkups and appropriate care they should last a very long time.

No one can give guarantees because the well-being of a person depends upon many variables which are out of the control of a person's dentist, e.g., proper nutritional needs being met, appropriate hygiene, genetics, disease processes which might happen. So, the answer for this question really is that no one understands how long each individual implant will last... one's success can be influenced by the way you live and the quality of practitioner you've decided to do your implants... these things can tip the scales in your favor. Q: Is special care required by implants?
A: Presume that dental implants are natural teeth and handle them that way. Return for regular checkups. Are lost as a consequence of gum disease than any single cause.

Q: Is the positioning of implants painful?
A: Implant placement generally doesn't result in much postoperative discomfort -generally the patient takes Advil or Tylenol for about 2-5 days. If more extensive treatment is necessary , for example bone grafts or many implants, subsequently the postoperative course may require drug and more hours. Anesthesia during the operation should make the positioning procedure pain free. We are not liberal and our philosophy will be to use minimal amount of drug for the patient to comfortably stand the processes. Depending on the sophistication and number of implants being placed, the procedure can take between 30 minutes to 3-4 hours.

Q: How long does the whole dental implant process take? Will I unable to eat for quite a long time or be without teeth?
A: The first phase after a detailed assessment and treatment strategy, normally is the actual positioning of the implants. This process is generally done in the physician's office during one visit. During now, osseointegration -- the jawbone to the implant's biological bonding --occurs. By means of this curing period, you will probably wear a temporary denture or your modified denture or bridge and keep ordinary tasks without restriction. You'll have to follow an altered, soft diet for the first few weeks. There are one stage implant placements, occasions or when extensive bone grafting will be performed, when patients may be requested to not wear their removable dentures for a time period.

The second stage of the procedure is usually 3-6 months after implant placement. At this time, the top of the implants will be uncovered from under the gums and extension or a little metal post will be attached to the implant (s). Your periodontist or restorative dentist will make any changes that are necessary to your teeth that are temporary to allow you to continue wearing them after post fastener.

In the third stage, which normally starts 2-6 weeks after the second period, your replacement teeth are created and fitted. This phase includes a number of appointments to make impressions of your mouth and to "attempt-in" your replacement teeth at key measures in their manufacture. The third phase is usually finished within 4 to 8 weeks. Total treatment time for most implant cases will generally be 5-8 months. It may be more if gingiva or bone procedures are needed.

Q: I've discovered that dental implants are experimental - Is that accurate?
A: Definitely not! Dental implants have an extended history of accomplishment and use. Implants are the most thoroughly studied process in the history of dentistry and, while no process is 100% successful, the present technology has resulted in quite high success rates in the hands of well- trained and experienced clinicians. Dental implants are carefully controlled by the FDA and a number of implant systems have been approved by the American Dental Association.

Q: I've discovered that dental implants are not cheap. How much do they cost?
A: The process can involve an important investment, with surgical fees that range from $1,800 and up for a single tooth replacement (when the implant crown is added the cost is about the same as a conventional "3-tooth bridge") to $5,000 and up for replacing of multiple missing teeth. But the price of non-treatment can be drastically more costly. Consistent bone loss occurs from the wearing of full dentures (plates) and partials. This progressive loss of bone can cause an entire inability, jaw fracture and nerve exposure to function with routine dentures. Correction as of this point can entail extensive bone grafts, which may need an extended recovery period and hospitalization and may be extremely expensive.

Q: Does insurance buy dental implants?
A: Yes and no --sorry to be so vague, but some carriers pay for them, some don't, and some pay a part of the costs. Nonetheless, many do supply some benefits that are restorative. Astonishingly, the best coverage often times can be through your medical insurance if you are missing all or most of your teeth. In many instances we have been able to help get coverage that was important but unfortunately it's not quite foreseeable. Our staff will work hard to see which you get the best possible benefit from your insurance.

Q: I must have some teeth extracted and I think to have implants placed to reestablish my ability to chew. Can a dental implant be set at the exact same visit as the teeth are extracted?
A: Whether or not the dental implant can be put immediately after extraction depends upon the amount of presence or lack of active infection and available bone in the region. Putting the implant at the exact same visit may prevent the need for setting bone grafts after teeth are extracted when bone shrinks back, and helps maintain both height and width of bone. During the first year after teeth have been removed, as much as 40% of jawbone width can be lost. Sometimes, infection from periodontal disease or a tooth has destroyed the bone to such an extent that it becomes crucial to do a bone grafting procedure prior to implant placement. If it's not impossible to place the implant as the teeth are pulled, this can conserve in healing time compared to waiting for an extraction site to cure before the implants can be put.

Q: My husband and I are retired. We love traveling and are on the road quite a bit. I understand how can I have them done without staying in one place for several months, although I need dental implants?
A: Patients are encouraged to continue their regular tasks, even when it calls for traveling out of town or even out of state during most of the time of the treatment procedure. Typically the longest period of time we urge our patients to stay close to home is the time immediately following the implant surgery. Most individuals (age doesn't matter) can go about their regular activities in only 2-3 days after their operation. We do advocate remaining close to town following this surgery for 14 days to ensure that ordinary healing happens. Once the implants are set it can take as long as 5-6 months for the surrounding bone to integrate (or bond) with the implant, however, you are usually able to wear your existing partial, denture or temporary bridgework in the day of surgery until the day you receive your new replacement teeth. During these several months it is possible to travel and do as you please.

Q: Why do dentures lose their fit?
A: With dental implants, bone loss together with gingiva erosion are impeded. Unlike dentures, which place pressure and tension along with the gums and jaw bone, endosseous ("in-the-bone") implants are actually surrounded by bone and the chewing forces transfer pressures into the bone, much like teeth do. This actually can fortify the bone and increase bone density, reducing the bone shrinkage seen often from dentures.