Dental Implants — Carlisle, PA
Enjoy a Complete Smile After Tooth Loss
Whether it’s just one tooth or several, the loss of a fully natural smile can have devastating consequences for patients. Not only does oral health suffer, but your self-confidence and enthusiasm can be dealt a blow as well making it hard to look in the mirror. Thankfully, our team of accomplished doctors at Flenniken Family Dentistry is proud to offer the ideal solution for many patients – dental implants. Implants transform your smile for the better providing you with the valuable health and aesthetic benefits you’ve been missing. If you’re interested in undergoing an implant consultation, contact our Carlisle office today!
Why Choose Flenniken Family Dentistry for Dental Implants?
- Start-to-Finish Convenience
- Calming Dental Sedation Offered
- Flexible Financing Available
What Are Dental Implants?
Unlike dental bridges and dentures, dental implants are surgically inserted into the jawbone. They’re an incredibly popular tooth replacement option because they replace the entire structure of missing teeth, from the roots up to the chewing surface. Over time, the implant will naturally fuse with the surrounding bone tissue, creating a foundation strong enough to support any number of replacement teeth. When you’re all healed up, your dental implants will function and look just like natural teeth. You’ll be able to eat, speak, and smile with the same ease as you did before tooth loss!
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
One of the benefits of coming to Flenniken Family Dentistry is that we offer this procedure and all the other steps of the dental implant process in-office. Other dentists refer patients to outside specialists. We hope this makes treatment more streamlined and comfortable for you, as you’ll be seen by the same team from start-to-finish. While each dental implant procedure can vary based on individual needs, they all have four main steps, which we’ve taken the time to outline below.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
We start every dental implant treatment out with an in-depth consultation and evaluation of your dental and medical health. This will help us determine whether you’re a good candidate for the treatment as well as establish some basic details, like whether you’ll require any preparatory procedures before your implant surgery.
During your consultation, our team will also walk you through your treatment plan so you know what to expect, answer any questions you may have, and provide you with a detailed cost estimate. That way, once you have all of the information you need, you can make an informed decision on whether you want to move forward with the process.
Dental Implant Surgery
Our skilled team of dentists at Flenniken Family Dentistry are able to complete the entire process in-house, including your dental implant placement. To access the jawbone, a small window will be made in the gumline to secure the implant. We’ll ensure you’re numb and comfortable during your procedure and secure a protective cap over your implant once it’s in your mouth.
Osseointegration & Abutment Placement
After your surgery, you’ll undergo a process called osseointegration, which is when your implants will fuse with your jawbone. This will take place over the following three to six months. Once your gums have healed and the implants are integrated with your bone, we’ll have you come back in to attach small metal connector pieces to the tops of your implants, called abutments, as well as capture digital impressions of your mouth that we’ll use to fit and create your dental restorations.
Attaching the Final Restorations
Once your final restorations arrive at our office from our dental laboratory, we’ll have you come back in to secure them to your implants and complete your smile. Our team will provide you with detailed post-operative instructions as well as a rundown of what you can expect as you’re adjusting to your new teeth. If you have any questions or concerns following this visit, please don’t hesitate to call us.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Today, dental implants happen to be the most popular tooth replacements. They’re so well-liked that U.S. dentists place roughly 500,000 of them yearly! That said, this reaction is natural – implants have a unique restoration method. Unlike dentures and bridges, they’re set in your tooth sockets and gradually fuse with your jawbone. That means they offer perks that other restorations can’t match! To learn more, just keep reading or call our office for details.
Day-to-Day Benefits
Typically, implants’ everyday benefits are the ones that stand out most. These typically include:
- Lifelike Results – Implants are capped with dental crowns, so they look beautiful and blend seamlessly with your smile. Your friends and family won’t even know you have a prosthetic!
- Greater Confidence – Since they fill the gaps in your smile, implants tend to boost patient confidence. This effect leads to less anxiety and greater comfort in social situations.
- Better Eating – By fusing with your jaw, implants actually restore much of your bite force. Consequently, they’ll help you chew all kinds of tough foods.
- Easy Maintenance – Compared to dentures or dental bridges, implants don’t require special upkeep. You can clean them as you would your natural teeth. In other words, just remember to brush them twice daily and floss them once daily.
Health Benefits
Aside from the day-to-day upsides, you may notice implants’ various health benefits. Some examples of these are:
- Improved Nutrition – By letting you eat a wider variety of foods, implants help you get crucial vitamins and minerals. The result is a major improvement in your nutritional health.
- Smile Support – If you don’t address them, smile gaps will cause your surrounding teeth to tilt and fall out. Thankfully, implants fill those spaces and thus secure your pearly whites.
- No Tooth Sensitivity – Because they’re set directly in jaw sockets, implants don’t rub against other teeth or gum tissue. They don’t irritate your mouth like dentures or bridges might.
Long-term Benefits
Of course, what really distinguishes implants are their long-term advantages. The most common of these are the following:
- High Success Rate – So long as they’re well-placed, implants seldom fail early. Their long-term success rate even stands above 95%!
- Long-Lasting Results – The average implant has a lifespan of 15-20 years. Meanwhile, a properly maintained one can last for 30 years or more. In either case, an implant could potentially help you for a lifetime.
- Big Savings – When they’re looked after well, implants save you money. They require fewer repair visits than dentures or dental bridges. As such, you’ll get to keep the money that’d otherwise go to keeping your restorations intact.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Good oral health and sufficient jawbone density are the most important factors when determining whether a patient is right or not for dental implants. Additional procedures may be required to correct these concerns before we agree to place new implants. Above all else, we ask that prospective candidates commit to attending regular check-ups and cleanings here in the Carlisle area.
Dental Implant FAQs
Can I Take Dental Implants Out?
Dental implants are surgically placed into the jaw. They are designed to last for decades at a time, and are not meant to be removed. All this to say that you cannot take dental implants out—their removal can only be facilitated by a dental professional.
In the case of some implant dentures, the prosthetic can be removed for cleaning. If you would like for that to be the case for yours, you should talk to us so we can accommodate.
How Successful Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants have gotten better and better in recent years, and the developments made in the last few decades have made them startlingly reliable. When implanted by a trained professional, dental implants have a success rate at 20 years of around 95%.
The success of your dental implants is conditional upon how well you take care of them, your lifestyle choices, and how frequently you can make it to the dentist’s office.
Will I Have to Take Off Work for Dental Implant Surgery?
Typically, recovery from dental implants surgery is fairly easy. Most people only have to take one or two days off of work at most, or none at all if they have their surgery done before the weekend.
However, it’s recommended that you refrain from strenuous exercise for a few days, as elevated blood flow could cause excess bleeding in the surgical area. If your work involves hard labor, you may want to take three or four days off of your job.
Can I Get Dental Implants If I’m Diabetic?
The answer depends on your relationship with your diabetes. If it’s well controlled, your chances of success are likely to be comparable to someone without diabetes. However, if it’s not, it could slow down the healing process. This could mean that the implant won’t fuse with the jaw properly, or that you could be more susceptible to infection than someone without diabetes.
We will likely consult with your endocrinologist or your primary care physician, and invite you to do the same, before beginning the dental implant surgery to ensure that your diabetes in under control before the surgery.
