Dental Implants Jacksonville
Fully Restoring Your Smile and Boosting Your Oral Health
Even after your teeth have been replaced with dentures or a bridge, you’ll likely find that your smile still isn’t as comfortable and lifelike as you’d prefer. Or perhaps you’ve just recently lost teeth and you’re looking for a superior tooth replacement solution that’s as close to the real thing as possible. In either case, you should speak with our team at Baldwin Dental of Jacksonville about dental implants. These long-lasting titanium posts will make it look and feel like you’ve turned back the clock on your grin – to the point where it’s almost like you didn’t lose a tooth in the first place!
Why Choose Baldwin Dental of Jacksonville for Dental Implants?
- Complete Dental Implant Service Under One Roof
- High-Quality, Long-Lasting Restorations
- Dental Team That Prioritizes Patient Comfort
What Is a Dental Implant?
A dental implant is a post, usually made out of titanium due to its biocompatibility, that is surgically placed in the jawbone. It’s able to fuse with the surrounding tissue through a process called osseointegration. From there, it can act as an artificial root for a crown, denture, or another type of custom-made restoration. In other words, dental implants don’t replace the entire tooth; they replace the root structure and support the prosthetic that you’ll use for biting, chewing, speaking, and smiling!
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
The process for placing dental implants can often be categorized into four main steps:
- Initial Consultation – You’ll meet with our team and we’ll assess your tooth loss before confirming that you’re a good candidate for the procedure. Some patients might need a preliminary procedure before they can receive implants.
- Implant Placement Surgery – We can complete the dental implant process in-house, meaning you won’t have to worry about coordinating with other offices. As for the surgery itself, you’ll be fully numbed and sedated and it takes about an hour to place a single implant.
- Osseointegration/Abutments – The implant posts will need a few months to fully heal and fuse with your jawbone, so during this time you’ll need to follow specific guidelines. Once this has happened, you’ll come back for a second, smaller procedure where we’ll place your abutments.
- Delivery of Restoration(s) – The custom-made dental restoration is attached to the top of the abutments and you’ll finally have a fully functional and complete smile once more!
Who Dental Implants Can Help
You need to be missing at least one tooth to be considered a candidate for dental implants. Our team will also need to evaluate your oral health to decide whether any preparatory treatments are required, such as periodontal therapy to take care of existing gum disease, or a supplemental bone graft to fortify your jawbone’s density. When the time comes to plan the actual implant procedure, the treatment will be altered slightly depending on how many teeth are missing.
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Missing One Tooth
When only one tooth needs to be replaced, the math is fairly simple: a single implant for a single gap. A dental crown made out of lifelike ceramic material will be attached to the implant so that the new replacement tooth blends in perfectly with the rest of your natural grin.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Multiple dental implants can be used to replace many teeth at once. For example, if three or more teeth in a row have been lost, a dental bridge can be supported by a pair of dental implants. Unlike a traditional bridge, implant bridges don’t require us to make any permanent changes to your remaining natural teeth.
Missing All of Your Teeth
If you’re tired of dentures that constantly must be adjusted or repaired, you can consider having them attached to implants. While some implant dentures are designed to be removable, in most cases they’ll be permanently fixed in place. Normally, the fewest number of implant posts required to support your dentures will be between four and eight. They can fully support a custom-made full denture on one or both arches as needed.
All-on-4 Dental Implants
By replacing all of your teeth with the fewest number of implants, we can simplify the entire process and give your mouth a chance to heal much faster. The All-on-4 technique relies on four strategically placed implant posts and also offers better stability right away, to the point where it’s often possible to give you your temporary dentures on the same day as the appointment.
Mini Dental Implants
Since mini dental implants don’t require as much bone density for support, they can be a viable option for anyone who has already experienced bone loss and doesn’t want to have bone grafting performed. Our team can explain the difference between mini-implants and traditional implants during a regular consultation; don’t hesitate to ask about this option.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants may require more of a commitment than other forms of tooth replacement, mostly in the form of diligent and consistent oral hygiene, but you’ll enjoy the advantages they offer for decades. Such benefits include:
- Dental implants prevent jawbone deterioration, one of the negative effects of missing teeth.
- They offer stable support for dentures so that they don’t loosen or slip around the mouth.
- They allow you to enjoy a hearty diet filled with all your favorite foods.
- You’ll be able to brush and floss normally and won’t need special cleaning solutions.
- Implant posts are designed to last for decades under ideal circumstances.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Since dental implant placement is such a customizable and complex treatment, it can be hard to know how much it will cost until your first consultation. Simply put, every smile is different; the number of implants and the need for preparatory treatments will have to be considered to figure out the true price. For many patients, the numerous advantages of implants are well worth the investment, especially since the posts, if properly cared for, will last far longer than traditional restorations!