Completing Your Smile With Dental Implants
At Dixon Family Dental, we understand that living with badly decayed or missing teeth can drastically affect your life and your oral health. That’s why Dr. Daniels-Dixon provides dental implant treatment to patients looking to complete their smiles once again. As the number one tooth replacement option, dental implants can give you the confidence to smile freely and greatly improve the state of your oral health.
Explore why dental implants are the gold standard of restorative dentistry to learn if they’re the perfect solution for your dental needs with our helpful guide below.
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are a natural-looking, durable way of replacing missing teeth from root to crown. Since they’re designed to mimic your natural tooth roots, we’ll surgically place titanium posts into your jawbone, allowing for natural integration and bone stimulation. This process makes your dental implants look, feel, and function just like your natural teeth, giving you a lifetime of happy smiling.
There are three parts of a dental implant:
- The Implant: A screw that serves as the new tooth root. This is the part that permanently attaches to your jaw.
- The Abutment: A permanent connector that supports and holds multiple teeth.
- The Crown: Also known as a prosthetic tooth, this is the visible part of the tooth. It’s usually made of porcelain for durability and a natural appearance.
Dental Implant Benefits
Dr. Daniels-Dixon and her exceptional team will typically recommend dental implants to patients who are looking to permanently replace their teeth. When patients receive implants as their restoration service, they also reap their unique benefits, including:
- Secured to your jaw for extra durability
- Natural look and function
- Resistant to decay
- Easy to care for
- Prevents jawbone deterioration
- Can last a lifetime
Your Dental Implant Process
Your journey to your dream smile with dental implants will consist of multiple appointments at our Southfield dental office. Over the course of several months, we’ll complete your implant treatment in three steps:
Initial Consultation
The first step in your implant process is scheduling your initial consultation with Dr. Daniels-Dixon. During this visit, we’ll evaluate your teeth, gums, and jawbone to determine if dental implants are the right choice for your dental needs. Dr. Daniels-Dixon will also diagnose and treat any underlying dental issues before beginning implant treatment.
In some cases, certain patients may need to undergo a supplemental procedure, such as a bone graft, before receiving their dental implants. If you fall into this category, Dr. Daniels-Dixon will let you know during your consultation. Any questions or concerns you may have can also be addressed during this time.
Placing The Implants
Once we’ve determined you’re ready, we’ll place the implants directly to your jawbone. We’ll protect the surgical area with a healing cap once the procedure is complete. In most cases, your recovery period will last between three to six months. This allows adequate time for your body to go through osseointegration — the natural process of your implant integrating with your jawbone.
Final Restoration
After you’ve fully healed, you’ll return to our Southfield practice one last time for your customized restoration. Your porcelain crown will sit atop the titanium tooth roots, recreating the natural structure of your teeth. The crown is customized specifically for you to ensure that you leave our office with a beautiful smile that will last a lifetime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, dental implants are completely safe! In fact, implants are a great way of improving your oral health and protecting the beauty of your smile. The dental implant procedure has a success rate of 98 percent and few complications ever arise.
Implants are also the only tooth replacement solution that keeps your jawbone strong. When you lose teeth, your jawbone begins to weaken and threaten other teeth as well as change your facial appearance. An implant can keep your oral health in pristine condition and your smile glowing.
Taking care of your implants is simple — all you have to do is brush your teeth twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush, floss daily, and use an antibacterial mouthwash. Also, make sure to keep up with your regular dental checkups and cleanings once every six months at Dixon Family Dental.
Although implants are resistant to decay, the gum tissues around them can become inflamed or infected without proper oral hygiene. If you take good care of your implants, they can last you a lifetime.
You can replace a single tooth, multiple teeth, or even a full arch of missing teeth with dental implants. We don’t even need to use one dental implant for every single missing tooth. For example, as few as four implants can be used to support a denture and provide a full, permanent arch of upper or lower teeth.