Are you sick and tired of being afraid to smile widely due to missing teeth? Perhaps that’s led you to even stop smiling as often. Dental implants can offer a potential solution for missing teeth. Keep reading to learn more about what dental implants are, how they can benefit you, what the procedure for placing them looks like, and why patients in Millbrae, CA should turn to San Francisco Dental Implant Center for all their dental needs.
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are basically artificial tooth roots made of titanium or ceramic. Each implant serves as the foundation for a permanent or removable replacement tooth.
How Can Dental Implants Benefit You?
When compared with traditional dentures, there are many advantages to dental implants. Let’s discuss some of them.
Dentures that slip and slide around in your mouth may compromise your ability to chew and speak properly. Since they are affixed to your gums, you’ll have no such worries.
Your gums will change shape to close gaps in your mouth where missing teeth used to be. Therefore, the fit of dentures can become looser over time. In fact, it’s recommended to have dentures realigned regularly and completely replaced every 5-8 years because of this. It doesn’t have this problem because they don’t shift and slide around your mouth. In fact, if you take care of them properly, your dental implants should last you the rest of your life.
Slipping and sliding dentures can irritate your gums and even cause them to become infected, as bacteria can make a home in the nooks and crannies of your mouth. But implants fill those nooks and crannies while leaving enough space in between to allow for proper flossing.
Dental implants even have benefits over dental bridges. If you need to have dental bridges placed, the surrounding teeth may need to be filed down for a proper fit, which can negatively affect your long-term oral health. There’s no need to do this.
Let’s also consider the appearance. The crown that will go over the implant will be made to look exactly like a natural tooth. No one will be able to tell the difference, which can boost your self-esteem and self-confidence.
Most importantly, dental implants can help to stabilize your jawbone and prevent bone loss. If your teeth aren’t replaced after falling out or being extracted, the health of your jawbone can degrade, which can also lead to changes in the shape of your face and mouth. Since implants are fixed, this issue is avoided.
Contact us for a consult or call (415) 992-9188 now!
What’s Involved?
Placing dental implants is a multi-stage process. To start, your mouth and overall health must be examined by a professional to determine if you are a good candidate. We will ensure that you don’t have any underlying conditions that may negatively affect the healing process.
Once you’re determined to be a candidate, you’ll need to prepare for the procedure. Please note that implant placement involves at least one surgical procedure. You will have a comprehensive oral exam done in our office, and digital images of your teeth and jaw will be taken. Dr. Alex Rabinovich always takes the time to fully explain the procedure during your consultation before anything is done and address any questions and concerns you might have. Keep the following in mind as you prepare for your procedure:
- Please make sure our office has a list of your currently diagnosed medical conditions, as well as any medications you are currently taking – prescription or OTC.
- You may be asked to temporarily stop taking some medications, such as blood thinners, but please don’t stop taking any medications without first talking with your doctor.
- People with certain underlying medical conditions may be prescribed antibiotics beforehand to reduce the chances of infection. If we prescribe these to you, please take them exactly as instructed.
Our staff will discuss your options for sedation during the procedure if needed.
The actual procedure itself is typically done in parts to allow your mouth adequate healing time. Please be advised that the entire process will take several visits across months to complete. It’s not an in-and-out thing.
Our oral surgeon will remove your old tooth or teeth. If the tooth or teeth in question are already missing, this stage will obviously not be needed.
If needed, the oral surgeon will perform bone grafting in areas of your mouth that lack enough healthy jawbone to support the implant. Usually, bone is taken from another area of your body. A sinus augmentation can be done in place of this, especially for patients having an implant placed in the upper rear portion of their mouth.
If you need bone grafting, you will need to wait several months for the bone to heal before your implants can be placed.
On the day your implants are due to be placed, the surgeon will make an incision in your gum to expose the bone. They will then drill holes just large enough to hold the implant post in place. If the implant is exposed, you will be given a temporary denture to cover it and prevent infection.
A period of several months will then pass, as your jaw and mouth must be given enough time to heal around the implant post.
Once the healing is complete, an abutment, or connecting part, will be placed over the post. In some cases, you may be able to have the abutment and crown placed during the same appointment. But that depends on which tooth or teeth are affected. In most cases, you will need to wait about 2 weeks between the placement of the abutment and the placement of the crown for proper healing.
The crown is then placed. You have the option of having it be fixed or removable.
Why Choose Us?
Dr. Alex Rabinovich is a very skilled oral surgeon who has both a medical degree and a dental degree. This background and experience allow him to help patients who have been told by other practitioners that they lack enough bone structure for dental implants. He proudly serves patients from throughout Millbrae, CA, and would be honored to help you as well. If you’d like to learn more, please contact our office to schedule a consultation.
Call Us today at (415) 992-9188, or email us at info@doctorrabinovich.com.
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