We offer dental implants to address tooth loss and help you smile with confidence. Whether you are missing one tooth or all of them, we have an implant-secured solution for you. In today’s blog, your Brooklyn, NY, periodontists and implant experts talk about restoring smiles with dental implants.
The Impact of Losing One or More Teeth
Tooth loss could occur due to factors like injury, cavities, infection, or in most cases, the advanced stage of gum disease known as periodontitis. When you lose teeth, the body will suspend the flow of key nutrients to the jaw around the missing root. Without these nutrients, the bone tissue itself begins to erode, which can cause additional missing teeth and an older appearance. Missing teeth also impact how we eat and deprive of us of essential nutrients and our favorite meals. Clear speech can be difficult and we may feel embarrassed to be in social situations. To restore smiles, we can offer dental implants.
Planning Tooth Replacement
Treating tooth loss with dental implants can offer a full smile again. To get started, we want to examine your smile to assess the cause and severity of the issue. You may need treatment to manage underlying issues like periodontal disease, which can help prevent implant failure. Our team will also examine the jaw to see if you need surgery to fortify it prior to placement, and to choose the best angles, situations, and depths to insert the implant posts. We will plan the process in detail with advanced digital imaging systems, so we can offer replacement with precision and accuracy.
Grafting and Sinus Lifts
What if your jaw has lost too much structure to support one or more replacement teeth? In these situations, we need to strengthen the weakened portions of the smile. For the lower jaw, we can conduct a grafting procedure, in which we add new structure to the weakened portions. These can be taken from other parts of your body, or we can use synthetic sources. This provides a matrix to support and stimulate the growth of new structure, and to strengthen the lower jaw so it can support one or more dental implants. For the upper jaw, our team will conduct a sinus lift, in which we raise the sinus floor to uncover new structures that can support your new roots.
Dental Implants
Each one is made of three main portions. The root portion, the implant itself, is made from biocompatible titanium and inserted into the jawbone. There it acts as a new root, bonding with the jaw to support your new tooth for decades to come, possibly a lifetime. Next is the abutment, a bit of structure we attach to the post that extends above the gum line. Finally, we attach a crown to complete the new tooth. The crown portion is custom-made to ensure a lifelike appearance and a durable chewing surface. But what if you have more than one missing tooth? Then you may benefit from a set of fixed dentures, which can often be placed in only one visit!
All-On-Four
With All-On-Four, we can support a full set of new teeth with just four small implant posts per arch. This means that even if you have lost mass and density in the jaw, you can receive new roots without the need for grafting or sinus lift procedures beforehand. After we insert the posts, we will connect the new teeth in the same visit. In one appointment, you enjoy a full smile!
Same-Day Dental Implants
With traditional options, there is a waiting period between the placement of the post and the attachment to the abutment and crown. But with same-day dental implants, also known as immediate load, we can insert the post and attach a temporary crown in the same visit, so you leave with a complete tooth and return later for the final, custom restoration. A new tooth in only one visit!
If you have any questions about how we address missing teeth with one or more dental implants, then contact our team today to get started. We want to address your tooth loss so you can smile with confidence, enjoy your favorite foods, and preserve your youthful facial features for years to come.
Schedule Your Upcoming Appointment with Your Brooklyn, NY, Periodontist
Our team wants to help you enjoy a full smile and avoid the complications of tooth loss. To schedule an appointment and enjoy a full smile again, contact your Brooklyn, NY, periodontist by calling (718) 444-3800.
