Dental Implants – Schaumburg, IL
Filling in Gaps in Your Grin for Good
Dental implants are the only permanent solution available to replace missing teeth. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve lost a tooth due to decay, trauma, or overcrowding; it’s important to visit your dentist immediately. Because teeth support each other, it only takes one missing tooth to cause the surrounding teeth to shift. When this happens, chewing often becomes difficult, and speech patterns can become impaired.
Widely considered to be the most durable and functional tooth replacement option available, dental implants in Schaumburg are becoming the go-to procedure to fill the space left by a missing tooth. That’s because the long-term consequences of tooth loss can be serious. Large voids between teeth eventually become difficult to clean, which is why tooth decay and periodontal disease (or gum disease) often follow tooth loss. While some turn to temporary solutions—such as dental bridges or removable dentures—patients who want a permanent solution look to dental implants. At our dental office, we can place dental implants in-house so that you don’t have to travel to a separate dental office to see a specialist.
What Are Dental Implants?
You can think of a dental implant as a prosthetic tooth root. Each implant post is made out of titanium and shaped like a screw. When dental implants are placed in the jaw, they can eventually fuse with the surrounding bone. As a result, dental implants are stronger and more stable than traditional tooth replacements, and they have a much longer lifespan. Depending on how many teeth are missing, a specific number of implant posts can be used to support a crown, a bridge, or a denture.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
The process of getting dental implants looks much different than that of traditional dentures or other restorations; things take several months longer, the recovery period must be taken seriously, and patients must take immaculate care of their smiles. However, while everyone’s experience will differ, the process can often be broken into the same four basic steps. Here’s a closer look at each of them, and as always, don’t hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions!
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
The first step on your journey to rebuilding your smile with dental implants is coming by our office for an initial consultation. During this visit, we will carefully examine your smile, note the extent of your tooth loss, and assess your overall gum health, jawbone density, and other relevant factors. Although most patients with missing teeth are good candidates, we’ll want to be sure that your jaw can successfully accommodate the implants; certain conditions, like gum disease or insufficient jawbone tissue, might require preliminary procedures before the implants can be placed.
Dental Implant Surgery
Dental implant surgery is surprisingly straightforward – and as a bonus, we’re proud to be able to complete this whole procedure in-house, including everything from the initial scans to the placement of your new restoration! After your mouth is numbed, we will make small incisions in the gum tissue to access the jawbone. From there, the implants are placed at precise locations and angles; anywhere from one to four or even more can be used. Once they’ve been placed, the gums are sutured shut, and a protective cap is set into position to help protect the implants and maintain the gum line’s shape throughout the healing process. It takes about one hour to place a single dental implant, with complex surgeries taking longer; however, they’ll all be placed during the same appointment.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment
Once the implants have been placed, you’ll need to spend the next several months waiting for osseointegration to take place. This process, which refers to the fusion between implant post(s) and jawbone tissue, is the single most important factor concerning dental implant success. Simply put, if the posts cannot fuse with the jawbone, they cannot act as replacement tooth roots, and implant failure is highly likely. However, once osseointegration is complete, you’ll return for a second, smaller procedure to receive your abutments. These metal connector pieces are placed on top of the implants, and they’ll allow us to secure your custom-made dental restoration when it’s ready.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s)
Your custom-made dental restoration might be a single crown, a dental bridge, a full set of dentures, or whatever else may be needed to fully restore your smile. A team of skilled technicians will create these replacement teeth using the precise digital impressions that we take of your mouth. Your new teeth should look, feel, and function exactly like your original ones, and they’ll have an incredible amount of support thanks to the implant posts. Once the restoration has been secured to the abutments, that’s it – you’re ready to head out into the world with a complete smile once more!
Benefits of Dental Implants
When you use dental implants to replace your missing teeth, you’ll be able to take advantage of the following benefits:
- Prevention of Bone Loss: The jawbone tends to deteriorate when teeth are missing, but the stimulation from dental implants can prevent this from happening. This helps you maintain a strong, well-formed jaw in the long term.
- No Diet Restrictions: Dental implants have enough chewing power to handle virtually any kind of meal or snack. This includes red meat, nuts, and other foods that often prove problematic for people who wear traditional dentures.
- Comfort: After they’ve joined with your jawbone, your dental implants will feel like a natural part of your mouth.
- Easy Maintenance: Dental implants are very easy to take care of; you can simply brush and floss the way you normally would.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Most people who are missing at least one tooth are eligible for dental implants. To have the surgery performed, you need to have good oral health overall as well as an adequate level of bone density in your jaw. We’ll let you know if any preliminary treatments will be needed before you can have dental implants placed. Thanks to their versatility, dental implants can be a viable option in the following tooth loss situations:
Missing One Tooth
To replace the tooth that was lost, a single implant post will be placed in the open socket. After your mouth has fully healed, a single crown will be attached to the implant. Said crown will be made out of tooth-colored materials that are shaded to be virtually indistinguishable from your natural enamel; the average person won’t be able to tell which tooth was the one that had to be replaced.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Three or more consecutive missing teeth can be replaced with a personalized dental bridge attached to two dental implants. For multiple gaps, you can get an implant-supported partial denture; the exact number of implant posts required for this type of restoration will vary based on the number of teeth that you’ve lost.
Missing All of Your Teeth
Oftentimes, only four to six implant posts are needed to anchor a full denture in place in order to replace all of the teeth in a single arch. Implants eliminate the risk of your dentures slipping at the wrong moment. Furthermore, in many cases, we can design implant dentures so that they stay in your mouth for 24 hours a day and can be brushed like real teeth.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
You’ll be given an estimate for the cost of your dental implants during your initial consultation. The amount you pay will depend on factors such as the number of teeth that need to be replaced and whether preliminary procedures are required. While dental implants usually cost more than traditional bridges and dentures, they also don’t have to be replaced as often, which can make them the more cost-effective option in the long term.