When you have missing teeth, dental implants are your best permanent replacement options. These are dental posts that resemble screws placed on your jawbone to act as roots of the restoration. Unlike other replacements, they stimulate bone growth and they fuse with the tissues surrounding your missing teeth. Placing implants through surgery prevents bone degeneration even after you lost some of your teeth.
Titanium dental implants are best used as implants when your body doesn’t react negatively to metal. Otherwise, your dentist will recommend zirconia, a ceramic type of implant. Read on to learn the different steps you need to go through before implants are placed on your jawbone.
5 steps prior to placing dental implants
Comprehensive dental checkup
The procedure of placing dental implants starts with a comprehensive dental examination. Your dentist will take digital X-ray images of your teeth to check the status of your bones. He uses advanced equipment to take accurate 3D images of your teeth that’s necessary for treatment planning.
Review overall medical history
You must be physically healthy and have excellent oral health to be a good candidate for titanium dental implants. Hence, your dentist will need to review your overall medical history. He needs to consider the current medications and supplements you may be taking, including your previous treatments, if any. He will also ask if you smoke or if you have certain conditions that may reduce the success rate of the procedure.
Treatment planning
At this point, he provides you with the best options to replace your teeth, which includes bridgework, dentures, or dental implants. Once you choose to have implants, he discusses with you the details of his treatment plan. He informs you of what you can expect during and after the treatment. Also, he lets you know what food and activity to avoid to speed up your healing process and not delay the restorative treatment.
Removal of a damaged tooth
Your damaged teeth may still have remaining parts of the roots that have not totally come off. These need to be completely removed to make room for the titanium dental implants. The dentist will numb the extraction site so you won’t have to feel any discomfort at all.
Once the dentist sees that you have healthy tissues, he may place the implants right after the removal of the damaged teeth. Then, you will have to let the gums heal and the implants fuse with your tissues in the next six months.
Having dental implants in Markham, Ontario require time before the restorative treatment is completed. However, you can be assured that implants will give you a smile that lasts a lifetime.