Dental Implants in Whittier, CA

Losing a tooth to cavities or external trauma can be quite a letdown, especially when people notice it and mock you. Keeping aside the embarrassment factor, missing teeth can also affect the alignment of the teeth, the way you bite and chew food and also the phonetics. Considering all the possible drawbacks that it could lead to, it is best to get a missing tooth replaced using a prosthetic to avoid them.

Speaking of dental prosthetics, dental implants are the best option to replace a natural tooth. They are highly recommended by dentists all over the world to their patients, owing to their excellent features. Dr. Violet has treated hundreds of patients over her long-spanning career, during which she has restored the smiles of patients who had missing teeth.

Is a missing tooth that bad after all?

Of course. Failing to get an extracted tooth replaced using a prosthetic can gradually lead to several disadvantages. Some of them are:

• The gap left by the missing tooth can allow the remaining teeth to move from their places. This way, the facial shape can change and also lead to malocclusion.
• The teeth adjoining the gap left by the missing tooth endure excessive stresses compared to the remaining ones. It often leads to toothache and pain in the jaws.
• Your phonetics would alter when you lose a frontal tooth. Biting and chewing food also takes a hit.
• Most important of all, your smile will look displeasing. People with missing teeth feel excessively conscious while smiling or talking to people. Lack of confidence would eventually follow.

What is jawbone density?

Not everyone with a missing tooth can go for a dental implant. Getting an implant requires you to satisfy a few conditions, among which jawbone density is a prominent one. Since the implant will be fixed to the jawbone, it should be of a healthy thickness, height, and width to support the metal implant. Else, the implant stud could break off when you bite into something too hard or have a bad fall. To help you in this regard, we can conduct a bone graft surgery. Bone tissues will be extracted from a different source and grafted to the jawbone to replenish its volume. After this, the implant can be placed in the bone.

Implant procedure

An initial screening process will be conducted to check for factors that influence the implant procedure. Some of them are the presence of other restorations, cavities, gum diseases, oral health, overall health, spacing available for placing the implant, jawbone density, etc. Once all the conditions are satisfied, you will be prepared for the implant surgery.

Local anesthesia will be administered to numb the oral cavity. This prevents pain and discomfort during the procedure. The jawbone will be exposed by making a small slit on the gums, after which a hole will be made in it. The implant stud will be carefully inserted into place and allowed to heal for a few weeks. Meanwhile, the implant crown will be fabricated in a dental laboratory.

After the gums have healed and the implant stud has firmly adhered to the jawbone, a connecting element called the abutment will be placed on it. Dental adhesives will be used to fix the ceramic crown on the implant stud. Once its position and fit are confirmed using a bite test, the adhesive will be hardened using a curing light. Finally, it may be polished to enhance its appearance.

Call Dentist in Whittier CA at (562) 698-9621 or schedule an online appointment to know more about dental implants from Dr. Violet.