Dental Implants – Putnam, CT
Replacement Teeth That Look & Feel Like the Real Thing
Are you missing a tooth? If you are, it’s important to have it replaced because leaving a space in your smile gives room for other teeth along your gums to shift and alter your overall bite. This can lead to many complications, not to mention the impact a gap in your smile will have on your confidence. To help, our team can work with you to replace missing teeth with dental implants in our Putnam, CT dental office!
Why Choose Quiet Corner Dental for Dental Implants?
- Partnered with Local Experts for Dental Implant Surgery
- Low-Interest Dental Financing Available
- Kind Dentists with Decades of Experience
What Are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is a small, metal screw that is placed directly into the socket of the missing tooth. As time goes by, the jaw and the implant will fuse to form a stable foundation for your new dental crown. When enough time has passed, you’ll come to our dental office to complete your dental implant procedure by having a realistic-looking dental crown placed. In the end, your new tooth will be basically indistinguishable from your natural one!
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
Although each implant case differs from others, you will find that every patient follows this process:
- Initial consultation
- Dental implant surgery
- Osseointegration and abutment placement
- Attaching the final restoration
These steps are essential for the success of your prosthetic teeth, and we can guide you through the process, answer any questions, and help you know what to expect next on your tooth-replacement journey.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
This first appointment is reserved as a consultation because it gives our dentists the opportunity to examine your mouth, talk about your treatment goals and expectations, and walk you through the process of getting dental implants. If we find anything that could interfere with your dental implants, such as gum disease, we can take care of the issue first, paving the way to successful replacements.
Dental Implant Surgery
To have the implant posts placed in your jaw, we refer you to a trusted specialist in the Putnam area. That way, your treatment is of the highest possible quality. Prior to the surgery, you may need to schedule a consultation with the specialist to go over the details of the procedure, but we can also explain some of it beforehand to give you a clearer idea of what will happen. You should plan on taking at least two days off from work to rest after the procedure.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment
You should feel “back to normal” within about a week of implant placement, but the real, important healing is just beginning. For the next three to six months, your implants merge with your jawbone in a process known as osseointegration, which gives implants their stability and strength.
Then, small attachments called abutments are secured on top of the posts. These pieces connect the posts to the restorations above the gums.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s)
Once the abutments are in, we’ll take impressions of your lower and upper arches, design your custom restorations, and send the order to our dental lab. Finally, we can complete your smile by placing your personalized dental crown, bridge, or denture onto your abutments. At that point, you’re free to enjoy your prosthetic teeth! Keep in mind that it could take a little bit of time to adjust to having your full smile back, but with patience and time, you’ll find that this entire process is well worthwhile.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Did you know that every year, an estimated 5 million dental implants are placed worldwide? This unique method for replacing missing teeth continues to gain popularity due to its many benefits. This type of restoration is the only one that is surgically inserted into your jawbone which means it has advantages over the alternatives like dentures or dental bridges. Continue reading below to learn more about how dental implants can help you, and feel free to contact us if you have additional questions.
Day-to-Day Benefits
Tooth loss can impact your daily quality of life because they are essential for performing basic tasks like eating and speaking. Fortunately, dental implants can improve your world in several ways, such as:
- Allowing you to enjoy meals. These artificial teeth are sturdy, standalone structures that don’t come with many dietary restrictions so you can eat a well-balanced diet that includes your favorite foods.
- Restoring your ability to enunciate. Certain sounds and words are formed by pressing your tongue to your teeth in a specific way and with dental implants, you can speak clearly again so that you’re more easily understood.
- Enhancing your appearance. The dental crown that caps your implant can be color-matched to your smile so that it looks, feels, and functions like a natural tooth. You’ll feel much more confident when you’re not so worried about how your smile will be perceived by others.
Health Benefits
Although it may be less immediately obvious than the day-to-day advantages, dental implants also preserve your oral health by:
- Maintaining your jawbone. When pearly whites go missing, your body reabsorbs bone mass from your jaw that’s no longer needed to support them. Your restoration stimulates the bone whenever you bite or chew so that it remains active and healthy to prevent additional tooth loss.
- Supporting surrounding teeth. Your remaining teeth are likely to shift out of alignment to try to fill in any gaps which can wear them down prematurely, leaving them more prone to chips, cracks, and breaks. Your restoration fills the space to keep everything in its place.
- Simple maintenance. Caring for your dental implants is as simple as continuing to brush and floss your teeth twice daily and visiting your dentist every 6 months. This consistently removes harmful bacteria and plaque buildup that contribute to cavities and gum disease to keep your mouth in good condition.
Long-Term Benefits
Your dental implants can continue to serve you in the long run because they are:
- They can last 30+ years if maintained properly, which in some cases is the remainder of your natural life.
- This method of replacing your teeth has a 95% success rate even 10 years after being placed, so you don’t have to be overly worried about developing problems or complications.
- Cost effective. Although you may spend more upfront for this restoration than the alternatives, you could end up saving money down the road because you’re less likely to need to repair or replace them periodically.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
By replacing the roots of the teeth instead of just the crowns, dental implants are incredibly versatile, more so than other prosthetics. Most generally healthy adults who need to bring back lost teeth are eligible. With that being said, the only way to definitively know whether you’re a good dental implant candidate is to attend a consultation with one of our dentists. Once they’ve given you the green light to proceed with treatment, your process will look like one of the following:
Missing One Tooth
For a single missing tooth, a dental implant is vertically positioned into the empty space and then topped with a lifelike crown. Unlike a dental bridge, this solution fills the gap without compromising the structure of your remaining teeth.
Missing Multiple Teeth
To recreate several lost teeth in a row, we can place a dental bridge on top of two implants – one placed at each end of the space. That way, you don’t necessarily need a dedicated implant for each tooth. Not to mention, implant bridges are sturdier than regular ones and don’t require the removal of healthy enamel.
Missing All of Your Teeth
Even if you’ve lost a whole row of teeth, dental implants can bring all of them back. In most cases, all it takes is four to eight posts that are placed at specific points along the arch to support a full denture. With implant dentures, you’ll never have to worry about embarrassing slippage.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Each step of the dental implant process incurs its own cost, which varies greatly from one patient to the next. For this reason, we simply cannot give an accurate estimate for the cost of dental implants unless and until we’ve gone over the specifics of your treatment. At that point, our team can help you understand your financing options. Keep in mind that, as the longest-lasting way to replace missing teeth, dental implants are often more cost-effective in the long run compared to conventional dentures and bridges.