Dental implants are amazing modern prosthetic devices that can replace lost teeth with restorations that look, work, and feel just like the real thing. While they can deliver a range of remarkable benefits that traditional dental restorations cannot match, placing a dental implant requires a special process that includes several steps. Here’s a brief guide to these steps and how long they can take.
Step One: The Consultation
The process of receiving a dental implant begins with a consultation at your dentist’s office. During this appointment, your dentist will carefully examine your mouth and review your oral health history to determine if you can be a good candidate for the treatment.
Step Two: Preliminary Procedures
In some cases, a person may require one or more preliminary procedures before undergoing dental implant surgery. These may include restorative treatments like gum disease therapy, bone grafts to reinforce the jaw, or extractions to eliminate teeth that are too damaged to be saved. These procedures will be scheduled at a date after you consultation, and they can take several hours. Recovering from bone grafts or extractions can take several weeks.
Step Three: Receiving Dental Implants
Your dental implant surgery will be scheduled for after your consultation or after you have sufficiently recovered from any necessary preliminary treatments. This procedure will begin with your oral surgeon administering an appropriate anesthetic treatment to ensure your comfort and possibly a sedation treatment if needed. Then, they will surgically insert the titanium post of the implant into your jawbone. This process takes about one to two hours per post being placed.
Step Four: Placing Abutment Pieces
It’s crucial to strictly follow your dentist’s postoperative instructions after receiving a dental implant to ensure proper healing as well as your comfort during recovery. A few weeks after receiving your titanium post, you’ll see your oral surgeon again to have an abutment piece placed upon it. This minor surgical procedure is performed using local anesthesia to keep the patient comfortable and takes about an hour.
Step Five: Placing Restorations
The final step of placing dental implants is mounting lifelike dental restorations upon them to complete the patient’s smile. Dental implants can support dental crowns, bridges, or dentures to deliver superior chewing power and make speech easy. Your restoration will be completely customized to fit your mouth and blend in seamlessly with the rest of your smile based on detailed measurements of your mouth.
Complying with your dentist’s postoperative instructions will allow your dental implant to fuse thoroughly with your jawbone for maximum strength and stability. The whole dental implant process can take several months, and with excellent care, your implants can last for thirty years or even a lifetime.
About the Practice
Cove Choice Dental offers the finest oral healthcare available to the community of Copperas Cove. Led by Drs. Daood Alvi, Sileshi Assemu, Shruti Sharma, Simrat Sehmi, and Preethi Kuknooru, the staff delivers outstanding customer service with genuine compassion and exemplary courtesy. Areas of expertise include general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry as well as dental implant services. To schedule your consultation for implants, dial (254) 987-6777 or contact the staff online.