If you have damaged or missing teeth, dental implants provide a functional and aesthetic solution. These prosthetics fit permanently into your mouth and have a natural appearance, improving your ability to chew food while making your smile more attractive. Below, you’ll learn more about dental implants and their benefits. 

Your Guide to Dental Implants

What Are They?

Dental implants are titanium rods that fit into the gums permanently. They have crowns attached at their ends that resemble natural teeth. During your initial consultation, you’ll meet with a prosthodontist who will customize your implants to match the size, shape, and color of your teeth.

What Does the Procedure Entail?

Your dentist will scan your mouth to assess missing teeth and jawbone damage. If the bone shows signs of weakness, you may need grafting to strengthen it so it can support your implants. Grafting involves removing tissue from another part of the body and introducing it to the jaw to accelerate bone growth. This typically takes about six months to a year. 

On the day of your implants procedure, your dentist will administer local or general anesthesia to make the surgery painless. The dentist will cut incisions into your gums and drill into the jawbone to make holes for the titanium rods. After inserting the rods, they’ll screw on the crowns. The procedure generally takes a few hours. 

Following implantation, osseointegration occurs, which is the fusion of your implants with your jawbone. This typically takes about three to six months. During this time, take pain medication as directed and eat soft foods to prevent infection. Make follow-up appointments with your dentist to monitor your healing and osseointegration progress. 

What Are the Benefits?

When you have missing teeth, your jawbone does not get adequate stimulation, which causes it to deteriorate. Since implants make contact with the jawbone, they stimulate bone growth, which prevents your facial structure from collapsing. Additionally, implants improve your appearance, speech, and ability to eat.

Restore your smile with dental implants from New Horizons Dental LLC. This dentist offers general and cosmetic dentistry to clients throughout Wisconsin Rapids, WI. Call (715) 424-7810 to schedule a consultation for implants, and visit the website to learn more about the services they provide to maintain your oral health.