What are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is made out of titanium that your dentist surgically insert into your jawbone. After the surgery site heals, we’ll place a dental crown on top. The implant replaces the root of your tooth, which is more important than many realize. The root of your tooth does more than simply keep your tooth in place; it focuses the biting pressure of chewing into your jaw instead of on your gums and stimulates cell regeneration in your jawbone.
Your body normally repairs and replaces cells at a high rate. But when your jawbone doesn’t get any stimulation, your body thinks it’s not in use and will slowly stop replacing and repairing cells where you’ve lost your tooth. Eventually, you’ll lose jawbone cells, and your face will loose shape. You’ll show more wrinkles when you lose jawbone density, and the lower third of your face will shorten.
Many people choose to secure their removable dental prosthesis with dental implants because the biting force on the dental implant goes into your jawbone instead of your gums. Just like your natural teeth, you won’t get any sores simply from eating.
We use titanium for dental implants because it integrates well with your body. When you get a dental implant in Palmetto Bay, you can be sure that it’ll last for years as long as you practice good oral hygiene.
What Causes Tooth Loss?
People lose teeth for many reasons. Maybe you were in an accident or sustained a tooth injury. Or perhaps your tooth is cracked or chipped beyond repair. But the chief reason people lose their teeth is because of tooth decay and gum disease.
You can still get dental implants even if you lose your tooth due to tooth decay and gum disease. However, we’ll have to heal your gums before we can begin any kind of dental surgery and your mouth must be healthy. It’s our goal to give you a tooth or teeth that you’ll have for the rest of your life.
Be sure to practice good oral hygiene by brushing and flossing twice daily and visiting your Palmetto Bay dentist twice yearly.
Dental Implant Benefits
They offer many benefits beyond other tooth replacement options because they are so natural-looking, natural-feeling, and natural-functioning. Here are the benefits.
- Enhance your appearance: Filling in the gaps in your smile will transform it back into its former beauty—before you lost your tooth.
- Improve your speech: Missing teeth make it harder to speak. Dental implants will improve a lisp and other speech problems.
- Easier chewing and biting: Your bite force is transferred to your jawbone as if you had a natural tooth. Also, with a full mouth of teeth, you’ll be able to eat all your favorite crunchy and tough foods.
- Higher self-esteem: Having a beautiful smile will give you a boost in confidence!
- Better oral health: Without gaps in your smile, you’re less likely to get gum disease or damage your gums.
- Durable: Your new dental implant is solid!
- Long-lasting: Your dental implant should last the rest of your life with proper care.
- Convenient: Don’t worry about taking your teeth out or your teeth sliding around! Your dental implants are permanently in your mouth and won’t move.
- Easy to take care of: Simply brush, floss, and visit your dentist as recommended.
- Help to retain jawbone density: Implants provide jawbone stimulation that encourages cell repair and growth.
- Prevents your other teeth from moving and helps to keep your smile straight: Just as your teeth can move with braces, they can move on their own too. When there is an empty spot, your teeth tend to shift into it, creating a crooked and gapped smile.
- Stain resistant: The dental crown atop your implant is made of stain-resistant advanced ceramics.
- Prevent facial sagging: Because you won’t lose jawbone cells, your facial structure will stay intact.
- Behave like natural teeth: Your dental implants can do everything your natural teeth can do. But, just as with natural teeth, don’t use your implants outside of their intended purpose. That means no chewing ice, biting nonfood items, or opening anything with your teeth.
- Look like natural teeth: No one will be able to tell you have dental implants! They look just like natural teeth.
- Feel like natural teeth: Your dental implant is the perfect size and shape. You’ll forget it’s not a natural tooth because it feels so natural.
Who is a Candidate for Dental Implants?
Most people are or can become candidates for dental implants. To be a candidate, you’ll first need to be missing a tooth or soon to be missing a tooth. Other qualifications include:
- Fit for surgery: You’ll need to be healthy enough to undergo surgery.
- Non-smokers: The best candidates are non-smokers. However, if you smoke, you’ll need to stop before the surgery and following months while healing.
- Adequate jawbone density: If your jawbone lacks density, you’ll need a bone graft to get the lost density. This will tack on time, but it’s worth it for people who want the benefits of dental implants. Many people who have had dentures for years will replace them but may need a bone graft first. We can perform the bone graft right here at our Palmetto Bay dental office.
- Healthy gums: Ideal candidates have healthy gums, but if you don’t, we can heal your gums before surgery. You’ll just need to keep a good oral hygiene routine after to keep your implant healthy. Implants can get a gum disease-adjacent infection called peri-implantitis.
Do you wonder about your candidacy for dental implants? Call our dental office at (305) 253-7670 or make an appointment online.
Dental Implant Procedure
The procedure is relatively short, but you’ll still need someone to drive you to and from the office on the day of surgery. The first step in getting Palmetto Bay dental implants is to set up an appointment. Our implant dentists will consult with you and examine your mouth. We’ll discuss any necessary pre-treatments (bone graft or gum disease) and create a treatment plan. Next, if you still have the tooth or teeth in question, we’ll extract them. You’ll heal your jawbone for several weeks before we continue.
On the day of your surgery, we’ll sedate you and numb your mouth, so you don’t feel a thing. For you, the surgery will go by very quickly. We’ll place the implant, a healing cap, abutment, and a temporary dental crown. After a few months of healing, you’ll return to the office again for the placement of your final crown.
And that’s it! Soon you’ll have a beautiful smile with the help of dental implants in Palmetto Bay.
Swap the Dentures for All-On-4 Dental Implants
Are you facing the loss of all your teeth or have dentures that you’d like to replace with dental implants? Don’t worry; you don’t need to get separate one for each tooth. You can get all-on-4 dental implants. They’re a full set of teeth on just four dental implants per arch.
Get Dental Implants in Palmetto Bay, FL
Are you considering dental implants in Palmetto Bay? Transform your smile and change your life and get dental implants at Luxe Smiles. Call (305) 253-7670 or make an appointment online.
