Everything You Need to Know About Dental Implants
Hello, everyone. My name is Dr. Alfonso Delgado from Delgado Dental Group, and I'm going to answer some questions on implants for you today.
What are dental implants?
A dental implant is essentially a screw that's placed into your jawbone to replace a missing tooth. The dental implant is really only the screw portion that goes into your jaw. What goes on top of it can vary from a crown to a denture to different things.
What conditions would cause a dentist to recommend dental implants?
There are various reasons. It could be for just a single missing tooth, or for someone missing two or three teeth. We could place implants and do a bridge on it. In some cases, it could be for a full mouth restoration. You could have implants that support a denture, a removable denture—we call that an overdenture—or you could have implants that support a fixed bridge. Sometimes you'll hear that called a hybrid, or All-on-X, or All-on-Four. There are different applications and reasons why you may be recommended a dental implant.
What are the advantages of dental implants?
Depending on what you're having it for, if it's just replacing a single missing tooth, the advantage is it restores your chewing and biting ability without touching other teeth. The advantage of a dental implant in other applications would be to maybe make a denture more secure, so it doesn't move around. Anyone who's ever had a denture knows that they have a tendency to not sit stably in your mouth. Sometimes the advantage or the recommendation for a dental implant is that it restores your chewing back to your original chewing abilities before you lost your teeth.
What is the process I will go through if I decide to get a dental implant?
The process you would go through if you needed a dental implant, no matter what you need, starts with what we call a cone beam. It's a three-dimensional X-ray of your mouth that helps us determine if you have enough bone for implants and where they should be placed. After we've determined that you have enough bone for your dental implant, we'll also do what we call an intraoral scan. That's like taking pictures or a video of your mouth. It allows us to plan your dental implant on a computer by overlapping the three-dimensional X-ray with the pictures of your mouth, allowing us to plan where those implants should go and how they should be placed for a better result.
Once we've determined where the implant should go, like almost any procedure in dentistry, it involves being numbed up. Once you're numbed up, we'll place the implant. We don't necessarily have to do a full surgery if we're able to plan it correctly with the 3D X-ray and the intraoral scan.
What are the steps in the process of placing a dental implant?
The first step is planning the process. When you come in for that appointment, we're going to numb you up. Depending on how we've planned that implant, sometimes we can use what we call a surgical guide that fits over your existing teeth and allows us to make a couple of drill holes into your bone and then place the implant. Usually, that procedure won't take more than 5 to 10 minutes. For something more extensive, it may involve cutting the gums open and doing some trimming of your bone, and that's usually for something like a full mouth restoration.
When would bone grafting be required for dental implant restorations?
It's really hard to say. Usually, bone grafting is required when there's not enough bone for an implant to be placed. Bone grafting can be something very minor, where we use a little bit of bone graft to cover the edge of an implant, or in some cases, it's what we would call guided bone regeneration, where we really have to try to build up enough bone to get the implant in the first place.
When choosing new artificial teeth, what options will I have, and what are the pros and cons of each?
An inquiry I often receive is how to replace missing teeth. There are a couple of ways. Everybody knows the traditional removable dentures, which have worked great for many years and restore function to about 25% of what you would have normally before you lost your teeth. Now, with dental implants, we can help a denture stay in more stably; we would call that an overdenture. It's still removable, but it's retained by the implants, so it gives you a little more biting force and security, restoring your chewing forces to about 40-50%. The Cadillac of all options is what we call a hybrid or All-on-X, a fixed denture or fixed dental bridge that sits on implants and is retained by screws. You cannot remove it, but I can remove it when needed for maintenance or cleaning, and that will probably restore your chewing to maybe 85-90% of what it was when you had teeth.
How long does it typically take to recover from dental implants?
It really varies from person to person and also depends on what kind of procedure was done. For example, if you had just a single tooth missing and an implant placed, I would suspect there's very little recovery involved. You may have a little soreness for a day, but generally, it's very minor. If you're having all your teeth replaced by dental implants, that's a more involved surgery, which may take anywhere from a couple of days to maybe a week or two to be fully recovered.
How long do dental implants last?
That really depends. I always say, for one, what God gave you didn't last forever, so you can't expect a dental implant to last forever. However, once an implant is what we call integrated, which means it's fully healed and healthy with the bone grown on it, with proper care, you could hope for it to last a lifetime. Like anything, you do have to have maintenance and keep it clean because it can get gum disease. There are many factors involved, including your health. If you have underlying diseases like diabetes or immune diseases, that could actually shorten the lifespan of a dental implant. But if it's done right, we could hope for it to last a lifetime.
What is the cost of dental implants?
The cost can vary depending on what your need is, whether we need to do bone grafting, and whether or not you have insurance. That cost can vary. If you call the office, we will be happy to go over your case with you and get you an estimate.
Are dental implants covered by insurance?
A question I get is whether dental implants are covered by insurance. Again, that's unknown. Every insurance plan is different, and it varies, but on a positive note, more and more insurance companies are covering the benefit of having a dental implant. We'll have to check with your insurance plan specifically to see if that is a covered benefit.
How can I schedule an appointment to talk to a dentist about dental implants?
If you're interested in dental implants and want to schedule an appointment for a consultation, give us a call at Delgato Dental Group at (209) 474-8888, and we'll be happy to go over your dental implant needs with you.
If you live in or near Stockton, CA, and are looking for dental care, contact us at (209) 474-8888 to set an appointment. Our staff would love to talk with you!