• Tooth Whitening
• Bonding
• Veneers
• Dental Implants
• Crowns
• Bridges
• Root Canals
• Wisdom Tooth Extractions
• Nitrous Oxide & IV Sedation
• Cutting-Edge Technology
• Children's Dentistry

Dental Implants
One of the goals of our dental office is to restore our patients to normal function, comfort, aesthetics, speech, and health, regardless of the loss of bone or teeth, disease, or injury to the oral structures. However, the more teeth a patient is missing, the more difficult this goal becomes with traditional dentistry. Today, with a thoughtful treatment planning, better implant designs, materials, and techniques, predictable success is now a reality for the rehabilitation of many challenging clinical situations. Join the hundreds of thousands of people who are enjoying renewed comfort, confidence, and peace of mind with dental implants.

What is a Dental Implant?
A dental implant is a titanium alloy screw-shaped cylinder that acts to replace the root of a missing tooth and is held in place by bone just like the roots of the original tooth. Once the implant has integrated with the bone and healed for 4-6 months, a crown or other appliance can be fixed to the implant. Placement of the implant can be done with just local anesthesia like a filling or the anxious patient can be sedated to make them more comfortable. Patients are often surprised at how little discomfort they experience during and after the procedure.

A primary reason to consider dental implants to replace missing teeth is the maintenance of the bone that supports the teeth. Stress and strain applied to the bone surrounding the implant stimulates the bone producing cells, subsequently maintaining the height, width and density of this bone. A functioning implant can prevent the effects of bone degradation that occurs after a tooth has been extracted. A removable denture that simply rests on the soft tissue does nothing to stimulate the bone. One can easily notice the pinched-in appearance and the loss of the height of the jawbone where teeth have been lost for some time. With significant bone loss over many years, these patients are unable to wear any denture, incessantly searching for a dentist who can make dentures that "fit", spending a lot of money in the process and becoming hopelessly frustrated.

In the lower third of the face, your features are closely related to the underlying bone. Often dentures become thicker and bulkier as they are replaced over the years in an effort to restore the natural contours of the face. However, with this bulkiness it is more difficult to control function, stability and retention. Patients resort to the use of the tongue and muscles in an effort to limit the movement of the denture. With ill-fitting dentures, the teeth slip and slide around in the mouth, often resulting in mumbling or slurred speech. With implants, your replacement teeth are anchored securely to your jawbone, so you'll speak with confidence, in a relaxed and natural tone.

Dentures vs. Implants
One of the most common complaints of complete denture wearers is that they cannot generate the forces necessary to adequately chew their food. These patients generally consume less fruits and vegetables and subsequently take significantly more drugs when compared to those with superior chewing abilities. Several reports suggest that a compromised dental function causes poor swallowing and chewing performance, which in turn may favor systemic changes more likely to result in illness, debilitation and shortened life expectancy. Dental implants can restore your chewing efficiency so you can eat most foods with confidence and without pain. Dental implants provide an excellent way to stabilize an upper or lower complete denture or to act as an anchor in the bone for the placement of more traditional fixed or non-removable dental bridgework for your entire upper or lower jaw or just a single area. No more rushing off to the restroom after a meal to rinse trapped food out of your dentures. Or the inconvenience of soaking your teeth overnight. No more sticky denture adhesives or covering your mouth for fear that your teeth will pop out.

With conventional bridgework, the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth space need to be ground down. Dental implants often eliminate the need to sacrifice these teeth. Implants are the perfect replacement for a single tooth perhaps lost due to accidental trauma, an extracted non-restorable tooth or even one that is congenitally missing.

Occasionally, older patients express concern that their age may prevent them from enjoying the benefits that dental implants offer. However, health is more of a determining factor than age. There are many excellent applications for dental implants. If you believe that dental implants would improve the quality of your life or that of a denture wearing parent or friend, please call or have them call our office at 513-561-8600 for a free consultation!