Dental Implants

Although you have a number of restorative options for the treatment of missing teeth, none have proven to be as functionally effective and durable as implants. In many cases, dental implants may be the only logical choice for the restoration of all necessary functionality of the teeth and supporting structures. An important advantage of dental implants over more traditional forms of treatment such as a fixed bridge, is that your other teeth are not prepared to hold the prosthesis. Thus they are much more conservative in terms of your own teeth.
Today's dental implants are virtually indistinguishable from other teeth. This appearance is aided in part by the structural and functional connection between the dental implant and the living bone. Implants are typically placed in a single sitting but require a period of osseointegration. Osseointegration is the process by which direct fusion of a dental implant root and the bone of the jaw occurs. An osseointegrated implant takes anywhere from three to six months to anchor and heal, at which point we would complete the procedure with the placement of a crown. Dental implants can also be utilized to replace multiple teeth.