Dental Implants

One thing that patients ask about frequently is about dental implants. There is a lot of information on TV commercials and things like that. So implants are definitely something that is top-of-mind awareness with a lot of patients. And, basically, what a dental implant is, is it's a way to replace a missing tooth or multiple missing teeth even all the way up to all the teeth if necessary with, basically, they're like titanium tooth roots. The best thing you can do next to having a natural tooth is to have a dental implant placed. It's a very easy, straightforward procedure and very, very accurate because we use a CBCT scan to create a three-dimensional model of the patient's dentition, mouth, jawbones. And we use that to make something called a surgical guide, which is then used to place the implant very precisely, very painlessly, and very quickly. If someone gets a dental implant, one of their concerns is, "How long will it take for me to have a tooth?" or "How long will it take for me to feel better after the surgery?" or things like that. Typically, the placement of an implant is such a precise procedure with a dental surgical guide that the recovery time is very short afterwards. There might be stitches in place for a week or two, but after that there is . . . basically, it's back to life as normal. The best candidate, really, for dental implants is anyone who has a missing tooth, one or more. So it's a treatment modality that can be used for just about anyone. There are very few reasons why patients can't have dental implants. You don't have to worry that you are stuck with dentures that flop around in your mouth. You're a great candidate for implants. You just have to take the first step and come in and have an evaluation and just ask questions.