Dental Implant Options
Placements
An implant is placed by making an incision into the gums and drilling into the jawbone so that the titanium post can be embedded into the bone. For a single tooth, this is only done once but several implants are placed to support a full arch restoration.
Restorations
A restoration is the visible portion of the tooth that shows when you smile. This is what’s used to chew your food and what others look at when you smile in pictures. In a single-tooth implant, a crown is attached to the implant. Only in full-arch restorations will you receive a denture or bridge. This is when the patient has extensive tooth loss.
Maintenance
Caring for and cleaning your implants is incredibly important to avoid implant failure. You need to regularly brush and floss between and around your implants. We recommend using an interdental brush to remove plaque from around the implants. You should also schedule regular maintenance appointments every 6 months so we can perform a thorough cleaning in the office to prevent any problems.
Single-Tooth
A single-tooth implant is when we implant one titanium post and connect an abutment and dental crown to replace one tooth.
Full-Arch
Full-arch implants are when a series of implants are placed in the jawbone to support an entire arch of teeth. After connecting O-rings which are similar to abutments, we attach your full-arch restoration in the form of a denture for removable teeth or a bridge for fixed teeth.
In some cases, we can support an entire arch of teeth with as little as four implants if we place two of them at an angle. This is known as All-On-Four and is a great option for patients with minimal bone support.