Dental Implant Surgery
What Are Dental Implants?
A natural tooth consists of a root and a crown. If you compare natural teeth to implant-supported replacement teeth, you’ll see they have the same basic parts. Both have a crown (the visible part used to chew food). Both have a root that holds the tooth securely under the gum and is anchored into the jaw. The difference is that the implant is made of titanium – the same time-tested material used by surgeons for artificial joints. When you lose a tooth, you lose both the root and the crown. To replace the tooth, the surgeon first replaces the root with a small dental implant.
I recently had my final visit for an implant. As with the extraction and previous visits, all went well. The office staff and assistants are very friendly and competent. Dr. Khan did this last step quickly, and I experienced virtually no discomfort afterwards. A very caring Doctor and extremely capable. I would recommend Dr. Khan to anyone.
Stephen L.
Time is allowed for bone to heal and grow around the dental implant. The bone bonds with the titanium, creating a strong foundation for artificial teeth. A support post (abutment) is then placed on the implant to bring it up through the gums. A new replacement tooth (crown) is then placed on top of the abutment by your general dentist.
Tooth Replacement Options
You can select from a number of different options to replace your missing teeth – from temporary to long-lasting solutions.
- Fixed Bridge
- Flipper
- Partial Denture
- Complete Denture
- Dental Implants
A good candidate for dental implant surgery is anyone missing one or more teeth, or who is unhappy with their dentures. Age is not a factor. However, smoking, diseases such as diabetes, and radiation therapy to the area, have been shown to lower the success rate of dental implant surgery. Three dimensional CT scans of your jaw will be taken to evaluate whether it will accommodate implants immediately, or in the case of delayed implant placement, if bone grafting is required.
Dr. Khan and all of his staff did a remarkable job while I had my lower teeth removed, the sedation was easy and the recovery was completely painless for me. I can’t wait to go back in a few weeks to get the rest of my teeth removed for my future dentures. I would recommend Dr. Khan to anyone who is in search of an awesome person who cares for his patients’ wellbeing. Thank you Dr. Khan and staff you guys are the best!
Victor S.
Why Select Dental Implants Over More Traditional Types Of Restorations?
To summarize there are several reasons: A dental bridge can sacrifice the structure of surrounding good teeth to bridge the space of the missing tooth/teeth. In addition, removing a denture or a “partial” at night may be inconvenient, not to mention dentures that slip can be uncomfortable and rather embarrassing. From a biological standpoint they also maintain the bone you currently have.
Dr. Khan is seriously the best! He and his team have great bedside manner, and my multiple procedures all went very well! I’ll definitely be back for another implant when the time comes.
Megan R.
Dental Implant Surgery Procedure
To start the surgeon makes a small incision in the gum tissue to reveal the bone (or removes the tooth being replaced immediately), creates space using special instruments, and gently inserts the titanium implant. The top of this implant is often visible through the gum.