Outstanding Support for Dental Restorations
Dental Implants Summerville
If you require dental crowns, bridges, or dentures, the means of supporting these prosthetics is rarely permanent; though dental bonding material can last many years, it eventually breaks down. Dental implants placed by Dr. John Hess at our practice serving Summerville, South Carolina, require multiple surgeries and several months of healing time, but can provide you with a beneficial, natural-feeling anchor that can last the rest of your life. These titanium posts fuse directly to your jawbone, acting like tooth roots, providing you with the best possible support for your restorations. To learn more about how dental implants can benefit you, please contact us today.
Placing Dental Implants
Before dental implant surgery begins, Dr. Hess will take X-rays of your face and jaws to ensure that your nerves and sinuses will not be disturbed during surgery. After administering an anesthetic, he will make an incision in your gums to expose your jawbone. Next, he will drill a pilot hole and insert the dental implant into the jawbone. Finally, the gum will be stitched closed over the implant while it begins fusing with your jaw. This process can take six to 12 weeks.
Once fusion is complete, you will return for a second surgery. Once again, Dr. Hess will administer a local anesthetic and make an incision in your gums, exposing the top of the implant post. He will place a special collar around the implant to guide the gums as they heal around the artificial tooth root, leaving the top of the implant above the gum line. Two to three weeks later, when the gums have healed once again, you will return to the dentist to begin the process of creating your crown, bridge, or dentures. To find out if dental implants, placed at our Summerville, South Carolina practice, are right for you, contact us today.
Advantages of Dental Implants
Dental implants yield many advantages for patients, especially those who wear dentures. Conventional dentures are anchored to the gums only by mild adhesives, making it possible for them to slip or fall out while eating or speaking. Dental implants hold dentures firmly in place, alleviating any anxiety about potential slippage during meals, and making it much easier to enunciate. Dental implants also help you retain strength and bone mass in your jaw. In the absence of tooth roots, your body will begin to resorb bone cells in your jaw, causing it to weaken. The presence of dental implants can prevent this from occurring and help you to retain a strong, functional jaw. And because they are made from titanium, dental implants are less susceptible to deterioration than your teeth, making them an ideal anchor for your restorations.
Risks of Dental Implants
Though dental implants are an extremely durable means of anchoring your restorations, breakage can occur in rare instances, and the implant will need to be replaced in this event. In other unusual instances, dental implants can fail to fuse with your jaw bone, and require a subsequent revision surgery. It is also possible for dental implants to come into contact with your nerves or sinuses, though Dr. Hess will take X-rays to ensure that this does not occur.
Learn More about Dental Implants
To find out if dental implants placed at our office serving Summerville, Goose Creek and North Charleston, South Carolina are right for you, please contact us today.
