Dental Implants – Copperas Cove, TX

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

First, our team will need to verify that you’re a good candidate for dental implants in Copperas Cove. This is done during a consultation, where our dentists will go over your medical history and review your oral health. If we detect any existing oral issues, such as gum disease or insufficient jawbone density, we’ll create a plan to fix them with various preliminary treatments, such as gum disease therapy or bone grafting. From there, we can walk you through what to expect throughout the dental implant process, including a projected timeline and cost estimate.

Dental Implant Surgery

Because our Cove Choice Dental team can perform this procedure in-house, you won’t have to worry about visiting an unfamiliar practice. Instead, you’ll be with the team you already know and trust every step of the way.

Surgical dental implant placement is fairly straightforward. We’ll first numb your mouth and, if need, be, help you relax with dental sedation. Then, we’ll make small, precise incisions in your gum tissue, through which we carefully position the implant posts within your jawbone. Lastly, we close up your gums and place protective caps over the implants to ensure they stay safe during the healing process.

Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment

Next comes osseointegration – the process of your jawbone growing around the implants until they’re essentially a part of your body. This step is key to the longevity, stability, and most of the other unique benefits of dental implants. However, it can take up to six months before it’s finished.

Once your implants are sufficiently fused to your jawbone, we’ll perform a small surgery to install metal connectors called abutments onto your implants. Abutments act as the bridge between the implant itself and the restoration we place on top of it. As you spend a few weeks healing from your abutment procedure, your restoration will be meticulously crafted at a dental lab based on impressions that we’ve taken of your mouth.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s)

Finally, you’ll return to our office and we’ll secure your tailor-made dental crown, bridge, or denture (depending on the number of teeth you’re replacing) onto your abutments. Once this step is complete, we’ll let you know how to care for your new smile so that it lasts for decades, possibly a lifetime to come!

Day-to-Day Benefits 

Since dental implants replace the entire structure of a missing tooth from the root up to the chewing surface, they’re able to provide several day-to-day benefits, including:

• Restored chewing power. Once fully integrated with the jawbone, implants will stay firmly in place, allowing you to continue to enjoy all of your favorite foods.
• Easier maintenance. Caring for dental implants is as easy as caring for natural teeth! Brushing twice a day, flossing daily, and using mouthwash will ensure your newly rebuilt smile stays healthy for life.
• Increased confidence. You can smile confidently knowing that your artificial teeth will not fall out or slip while you’re chewing, laughing, or talking to others.

Health Benefits

Dental implants can do more than improve your appearance – they offer many health advantages as well! Some of those include:

• Jawbone preservation. Since implants help stimulate the jawbone, they ensure it remains strong and healthy, preventing the bone loss that’s common after tooth loss.
• Protection for natural teeth. It’s common for teeth to shift if there are gaps in your smile. Fortunately, dental implants serve as a placeholder to ensure every tooth stays exactly where it belongs.
• Improved overall health. Studies have revealed a correlation between tooth loss and an increased risk of multiple diseases. For that reason, it’s safe to assume that dental implants can help lower such risks since they’re the next best thing to natural teeth.

Long-Term Benefits

Are you thinking about getting dental implants in Copperas Cove soon? Not only will you enjoy short-term benefits, but you can look forward to long-term benefits as well, such as:

• High success rate. Implants have an impressive success rate of about 95% even 20 years after they’ve been placed.
• Youthful appearance. Since implants stimulate blood flow in the jaw, they help prevent its deterioration and the sunken, aged look that often comes with tooth loss.
• Long-lasting results. Your new teeth can last for decades, or even a lifetime, as long as they are well-maintained.

Missing One Tooth

One lost tooth can easily be replaced with a single implant, which is surgically placed into the gap left behind. The average implant takes a few months to fully integrate with the surrounding bone tissue. We will only top the implant off with a crown once the integration is complete.

Missing Multiple Teeth

If you’ve lost multiple teeth in a row, you can consider getting an implant bridge. Typical dental bridges use natural teeth for support, but you can protect the rest of your natural smile by using a pair of dental implants instead. You can also use implant-supported partial dentures to fill in gaps throughout your mouth.

Missing All Teeth

The idea of replacing all of your teeth with dental implants might seem overwhelming, but it’s actually relatively simple. Dentures can be supported by four to six implants posts that have been carefully placed in strategic spots. Implant dentures are sometimes removable, but more often than not they’re fixed in place.

Learn More About Implant Dentures

Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery

Patients can sometimes require preliminary treatments before they can receive dental implants. This may include extracting a tooth that’s infected or decayed, or getting a bone graft if there isn’t sufficient bone tissue in the jaw. While these procedures may increase your overall costs, they are meant to ensure your new teeth have a strong foundation for a successful treatment.

The cost of the dental implant surgery itself can also be affected by the location of the surgical site and the kind of sedation necessary. Fortunately, we can perform the procedure in-office, meaning you won’t have to worry about visiting a specialist elsewhere.

The Parts of Your Dental Implant

The pieces of your dental implant can be constructed from different materials, each having its unique benefits and prices. The restoration used for your dental implant can also have varying costs. The price can increase the more materials that are used, such as a dental crown being more affordable than a bridge. Our team will discuss these options with you to determine which will offer the best results for your needs and how they’ll affect the overall cost.

How Dental Implants Can Save You Money

While it might seem like you’ll save money by choosing dentures or a dental bridge, dental implants are more cost-effective. Firstly, they’ll improve and preserve your dental health, avoiding other oral issues that might require more extensive treatment later on. Secondly, they won’t need to be replaced as often as other traditional options, and you’ll only have to practice minimal maintenance to preserve them.

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

Although many dental insurance companies don’t cover the implants themselves, they may make exceptions for parts of your restoration or preliminary procedures. These can include certain treatments like bone grafting or tooth extractions. To know how you can make the most of your benefits, reach out to our knowledgeable staff and we’ll be happy to look at your insurance plan.

Making Dental Implants Affordable

If you don’t have dental insurance, then we can offer flexible payment plans through CareCredit. With the help of our trusted third-party lender, you can pay the cost of dental implants in monthly installments instead of the entire sum at once. Many of these plans also have little to no interest, providing you with a financially stress-free experience!

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

Just as you should with natural teeth, your implants need to be brushed and flossed on a daily basis. Plaque, which contains inflammation-causing bacteria, can still accumulate, particularly near the gumline, and these seemingly small habits can prevent plaque from adhering and causing trouble. Even though brushing and flossing only take a few minutes every day, they can have an impact for a lifetime.

Eat a Healthy Diet

You may know that sugar can lead to cavities, but did you know it can also sabotage your implants? Although you don’t have to worry about decay, your gums can become infected with a bacteria that thrives on sugar and carbohydrates, so it’s a good idea to limit how much you consume. On the other hand, there are plenty of healthy fruits, vegetables, and other food that offer the vitamins and minerals your mouth needs to stay strong. Drinking plenty of water is another way to minimize the negative impact your food can have on your restored smile.

Break Bad Habits

If you have smoked in the past, now is the opportune time to stop. Smoking makes it easier for bad bacteria to grow inside the mouth. Other bad habits, such as chewing on hard objects like pens or ice, can also put your implants at risk for failure.

Protect Your Dental Implants

Do you participate in contact sports or activities where a blow to the face may occur? You need to wear a mouthguard, which absorbs the hit instead of your implants. Like natural teeth, your implants are embedded in the jawbone, but an impact to the mouth can break them loose, undoing all your hard work. We find the best protection comes with a custom mouthguard that fits properly and doesn’t slip around.

Schedule Regular Dental Checkups

Even if you are diligent in brushing and flossing, you’re bound to miss some plaque every now and then. Once hardened, it is impossible to remove, except by a professional with the right equipment and training. That’s why you need to have regular cleanings. Plus, during these routine appointments , we check to see if there are any complications developing. If we spot any, such as a gum infection called peri-implantitis, we can take care of it quickly—before it leads to implant failure.

What to Do Directly After Dental Implant Surgery

After getting dental implants in Copperas Cove, the most important thing you must do is leave the forming blood clot untouched to ensure the gums heal properly around the implant. To that end, you’ll need to avoid:

• Spitting (use tissues or swallow saliva)
• Drinking from straws
• Smoking or using tobacco products
• Touching the surgical site with your fingers and tongue

Common Side-Effects When Recovering from Dental Implant Placement

Patients who’ve never had oral surgery before may have difficulty knowing what symptoms are normal and which ones are concerning. While you can expect discomfort after getting dental implants in Copperas Cove, it’s temporary and should gradually disappear. If it seems to be getting worse, don’t hesitate to give our office a call. Here are some other side effects you can expect in the first few days after your procedure:

• Intermittent Bleeding: This is gradual and can be remedied by applying a small amount of pressure on the gauze that’s located on the surgical site.
• Swelling: Often lasting a week, you can get it to go down more quickly by using a cold compress on the cheek or jaw for 10 minutes at a time.
• General Discomfort: You can alleviate your discomfort with prescribed or over-the-counter pain medication.

Your Diet After Dental Implant Surgery

It’s strongly recommended that you stick to a soft-food diet for the first few days following dental implant placement. Make sure you stock up on non-abrasive foods like:

• Mashed potatoes
• Yogurt
• Ice cream
• Pudding
• Soup
• Scrambled eggs
• Pasta

While you can return to your usual diet as soon as you feel up to it, you should avoid doing so until your dentist recommends it. Make sure you limit your consumption of crunchy or tough foods and do not chew directly on the implant site.

Post-Op Health & Oral Hygiene

Keeping your mouth clean is incredibly important after getting dental implants in Copperas Cove. You can brush your teeth as you normally would the day after your surgery, but you need to be careful about brushing near the surgical site. Rinse your mouth two to three times a day with salt water, ideally after meals. You’ll also want to avoid mouthwashes that contain high levels of alcohol, like Scope or Listerine.

What to Do After Your New Teeth Are Attached

Once you’re all healed up, you can move on to the last step of the process – getting your new teeth! During your appointment, we’ll attach your custom-made crown, bridge, or denture to your dental implants. You may experience mild sensitivity in the gum tissue afterward, but it’s easily manageable with pain medication. Because there’s no extensive recovery, you’ll be ready to show off your improved smile that very same day!

How Long Does the Dental Implant Process Take?

After placing your dental implant in your jawbone, you’ll also need to wait for osseointegration to finish successfully before you receive your restoration. This process involves your bone tissue healing over and bonding with the titanium post, creating a comfortable, stable, and long-lasting root for your replacement teeth. This can take anywhere from three to six months to complete, depending on your diet and how well you take care of the surgical site. Make sure you maintain proper oral hygiene and stick to soft, nutrient-rich meals to preserve good health.

Will I Need a Referral to Have My Dental Implants Placed?

Sometimes dentists may need to refer patients to outside dental professionals to perform dental implant surgery. Fortunately, our team at Cove Choice Dental has in-house specialists that can conveniently place your restorations right here in our office! This means you won’t have to worry about going back and forth between locations to receive the treatment you need to replace your missing pearly whites. By using the latest dental technology, we’ll do everything we can to make sure your dental implant process is as smooth and efficient as possible.

Do I Brush My Dental Implant Like a Natural Tooth?

Although your new teeth won’t get cavities, you’ll still need to keep your smile clean and bacteria-free to prevent cavities and infection. The good news is you’ll simply need to care for your dental implants just like you would with your natural pearly whites. This will include brushing for two minutes twice a day, flossing at least once, and rinsing regularly with antiseptic mouthwash to keep a fresh breath and eliminate debris and bacteria. This can help preserve your dental implants as well as help you avoid more serious health issues from starting in the first place.

Where Do I Start If I’m Interested in Dental Implants?

The first step you should take is to schedule an initial consultation with our team. We’ll evaluate your dental situation and determine if dental implants are the right option for replacing your missing teeth. We might suggest preliminary treatments like bone grafting or periodontal disease therapy if you have insufficient jawbone density or issues in your gums that can hinder the success of your treatment. Once we’ve resolved any oral health concerns, our team will then discuss how best to restore your smile with dental implants. We’ll be sure to formulate a detailed treatment plan that’ll include an estimate of the overall cost and a personalized timeframe, that way you know what to expect before starting.