#1 Dental Implants in Trinity, FL

People are living longer than ever, and while regular brushing, flossing, and checkups allow many of us to maintain our natural smiles for a lifetime, sometimes our teeth just can’t keep up. If you have lost a tooth due to injury or disease, dental implants can restore your smile and your oral health.

An implant is a synthetic tooth root that is shaped like a post that is surgically placed into the jawbone. The “root” is usually made of titanium. Titanium is made of the same material used in many replacement hips and knees and it is a metal that is well suited to pair with bone. A replacement tooth is then fixed to the post and can be either permanently attached or removable. Permanent teeth typically are more stable and feel more like natural teeth.

The ideal candidate for dental implants is a non-smoker who has good oral health, has a sufficient amount of bone in the jaw, and has healthy gums with no sign of gum disease.

Single or Multiple Dental Implants

Implants are very versatile. If you are only missing one tooth, one implant plus one replacement tooth will fix you up! If you are missing several teeth in a row, a few strategically placed implants can support a permanent bridge (a set of replacement teeth). If you have lost all of your teeth, a full bridge or full denture can be permanently fixed in your mouth with the correct amount of implants to make sure your smile is perfect!

Advantages of Implants Compared to Dentures or Bridges

Conventional bridges and dentures are not fixed to the bone, and can be a bit unstable. This can make eating or smiling with confidence be extremely difficult. Implants look more natural and also feel and act more like normal teeth. And because implants don’t directly rely on neighboring teeth for support, they won’t compromise the health of your natural teeth. In fact, you can expect bridges to only last seven to ten years and can be even less with root canals. On the other hand, implants will typically last a lifetime!

Post Implant Treatment Care

Once you get implants, you should treat them just like natural teeth. They require the same daily brushing and flossing, and the same amount of regular checkups. Just like your natural teeth, the better you take care of your replacements, the longer they will last.

Our implant services include:

• Sinus Lift Augmentation: Often the sinuses will enlarge following loss of the upper back teeth. This can preclude placement of dental implants in the upper back areas of the mouth, since the sinus is an air-filled space and dental implants need to be surrounded by solid bone. A sinus lift augmentation/graft is a surgical procedure that restores the sinus cavity to its original size, and replaces the bone that has been lost as a result of the enlarged sinus. This new bone graft typically takes nine to 12 months to heal before the dental implants can be placed into the grafted bone.
• Autogenous Bone Grafting: Occasionally, the ideal areas for dental implants do not have sufficient bone quantity to support the implants. In these cases, it is often necessary to “borrow” bone from another area of your mouth and graft it into the deficient area. Often, the area of choice is from the chin or in the back of the jaw where your wisdom teeth used to be.
• Implant Site Development: When a tooth needs to be removed due to infection, it is not uncommon to have lost bone around the infected tooth. In these cases, various types of bone grafting can be done at the same time the tooth is removed to facilitate the placement of a dental implant at a later date.
• Computer-Enhanced Treatment Planning: We have special software on our computer that allows us to evaluate your dental CT scan in three dimensions for bone quality, bone quantity, and bone location, enabling the best possible placement of your dental implants. This also allows us to work closely and smoothly with your restorative dentist to ensure an ideal result where your dental implants are concerned.
• Implant Maintenance: Once your dental implant restoration is completed, it is important to keep the area clean and infection-free. Dental implants can accumulate plaque and tartar just as teeth can. Whether you have just one tooth replaced by an implant or several, a professional cleaning schedule will be necessary to keep your implants healthy. The time interval for these professional cleanings will be determined by your individual needs.