Dental Implants – Annapolis, MD

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

You will first need a consultation with your dentist in Annapolis to ensure you’re a candidate for dental implants. Generally, if you have good oral and overall health, they are a suitable option; however, your medical and lifestyle history will also need to be discussed to look for any risk factors that may lead to dental implant failure, like issues the hinder your body’s ability to heal or fight infections.

Your dental health is also assessed using a digital x-ray and a CT scan to evaluate your oral structures. This allows us to see if any additional procedures are needed before placing your posts, like bone grafting or a sinus lift. The images also allow us to pinpoint the precise location for your implant posts.

Dental Implant Surgery

The first stage of your treatment requires biocompatible implant posts to be surgically placed into your jawbone. The number of posts needed varies depending on how many teeth you are replacing.

A sedative or anesthesia is used to ensure your comfort during the surgery. Your dentist opens your gum tissue to expose your jawbone. A small hole is drilled into your bone for each post to be inserted into pre-determined locations. Your gum tissue is then sutured closed to allow the healing process to begin.

Dental Implant Osseointegration/Abutment

The implant posts stimulate new bone growth, allowing your jaw to fuse to the posts through a process called osseointegration. This can take several weeks or even months, but it is necessary to create a stable and lasting foundation for your prosthetic teeth.

After your jawbone has healed, you need a second minor surgery to attach abutments to your posts. These are connector pieces between the posts and your restorations. Your gum tissue is opened to expose the posts to place a fixture on each one. Over the next couple of weeks, your gum tissue heals around them. This creates a natural-looking gum line while also sealing out bacteria from the posts.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations

Digital impressions of your mouth are taken to carefully craft your restorations from all-ceramic material. The dental lab designs them with precision to meet your exact color, size, and shape needs for natural-looking results and optimal function.

Lifestyle Benefits

• If you want to avoid having your dental prosthesis slip or fall out, dental implants are the way to go simply because they are placed within the jawbone and must fuse successfully to the bone and surrounding tissues, creating a firm and stable foundation.
• Dental implants in Annapolis allow you to eat your favorite foods and drink your favorite hot beverages. Dentures can damage, break, or become warped when faced with hard or hot foods and beverages.
• By choosing dental implants, you will notice a dramatic shift in the way you view yourself. Not only will you feel more comfortable talking and eating around others, but you’ll also experience renewed confidence that will help you to embrace a better quality of life. This is far different from those who wear dentures or fixed bridges and are often embarrassed because of their prosthetics.

Health Benefits

• One thing your implant dentist in Annapolis will tell you is that by replacing your missing teeth with dental implants, you can take a positive step toward prolonging your life. There is a connection between tooth loss and lifespan, so if you want to live longer, why not ensure your smile is complete?
• Your dental implants will make it easier to maintain good oral health because you clean your implants just like you do your regular teeth.
• You can lower your risk for serious health problems by replacing your missing teeth with dental implants. As the only solution designed to stimulate the jawbone, you can avoid osteoporosis, diabetes, and other cardiovascular diseases.

Long-Term Benefits

• Unlike dentures and fixed bridges that must be replaced every few years because of daily wear and tear, dental implants have the capability of lasting a lifetime with regular care. This can save you lots of money in the long run.
• Speaking of money, you’ll also save by choosing dental implants because you won’t be purchasing denture adhesives, cleaning solutions, or paying to have your restoration relined or replaced.
• After 10 years, the success rate of your dental implants remains between 90 and 95%.

Who is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

A good dental implant candidate will meet the following three criteria.

• They are in good overall health in order to ensure that their body can heal properly after a minor surgery.
• They have good oral health and are not suffering from cavities or gum disease, both of which can contribute to dental implant failure.
• Their jawbone has enough density and strength to both support and integrate with dental implant posts.

Not everyone can get dental implants right away. Sometimes gum disease therapy or bone grafting are required to address specific issues before the surgery can be performed. Also, if the tooth being replaced is still in your mouth, naturally it will have to be extracted first. Once all of the underlying issues have been addressed, we can start planning dental implant treatment based on how many teeth are missing.

Missing 1 Tooth

Sometimes it’s not hard at all to figure out how many dental implant posts are going to be required. When only one tooth is missing, naturally only a single dental implant is going to be required. You might have heard that a dental bridge is the traditional solution for a single missing tooth, but while this can be effective, it requires us to make changes to your natural smile. Specifically, we have to shave off small amounts of enamel from the teeth adjacent to the gap in order to place the bridge. With dental implants, however, we can replace the tooth without weakening natural dental structures.

Missing Multiple Teeth

There are two possible implant solutions for multiple missing teeth, and the one that’s right for you is going to be determined by how many gaps there are. When all of the missing teeth are in a row, you can get two dental implant posts to support a single dental bridge to completely fill in the empty space. But for multiple gaps throughout the mouth, a partial denture will be used instead. The number of dental implants used to support a partial denture varies due to the highly customizable nature of the restoration.

Missing All Teeth

At some point, you may lose all of your natural teeth. Traditional dentures will allow you to continue speaking and eating somewhat normally, but if you have them attached to 4 to 6 dental implants, you won’t have to worry about them slipping or losing their fit. The minimal number of implant posts will be used while still giving your new teeth the best possible stability and functionality.

Learn More About Implant Dentures

Bone Grafting

The goal of bone grafting is to identify areas where there isn’t enough tissue and then repair the jaw in those areas. This also encourages the growth of new bone tissue.

Bone grafts typically work by placing existing bone tissue into the jaw. The tissue can come from another part of your mouth or the rest of your body; for example, many grafts take bone from the hip. Sometimes the tissue will be provided by a separate human or animal donor. In certain circumstances, we may even use a synthetic material. (This type of graft is often referred to as an alloplast.)

Once the bone graft has been performed, it might be possible to place the implant posts right away. However, if you had a more substantial cases of bone loss, you’ll need to wait a few months. While the mouth heals during this time, new bone is created.

Sinus Lifts

While a bone graft may be recommended in many different situations, a sinus lift is only performed when we specifically need to replace the teeth near the back of the mouth in your upper jaw. Sometimes after tooth loss occurs, the sinuses collapse so that they fill the space where the implants need to be inserted. We can’t perform the surgery while they’re in the way, so in this situation a sinus lift will be performed.

After making an incision in the gums and removing a small amount of bone, we’ll push on the membrane separating the sinus from the mouth, lifting it up. We’ll then fill the space with new bone tissue; like with a bone graft, this will add density to the jaw and encourage new bone to form. This normally takes about three to six months, though of course your body’s personal healing capabilities will affect this timeframe.

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

One of the top causes of implant failure is the development of an infection called peri-implantitis, which occurs around the soft tissues and bone structures that secure your dental implants in place. It’s caused by harmful oral bacteria accumulation as a result of poor oral hygiene, which can be prevented when you continue brushing twice each day for two minutes, flossing daily, and rinsing your mouth regularly with an antimicrobial wash.

Maintain a Balanced Diet

What you eat can have an impact on your oral health and, in turn, your dental implants. When you switch out more processed foods that contain sugars and carbohydrates that harmful oral bacteria love to feed off of for healthier snacks, like fresh fruits and vegetables, you can help reduce your risk of developing an oral infection.

Break Bad Habits

Bad habits like opening packages with your teeth, crunching on ice, or biting your nails can increase your chances of not only developing an infection, but also damaging your restorations. Try to be mindful of when you do these habits and put measures in place to prevent them from happening, like grabbing a stress ball to keep your hands busy so you don’t bite your nails.

Protect Your Dental Implants

If you participate in contact sports or any hobbies that could put your new teeth at risk, or you grind and clench your teeth at night, consider investing in a custom-tailored nightguard or athletic mouthguard. These are made from durable acrylic and are specially designed to provide your facial muscles, teeth, gums, and jaw joints with maximized protection. That way, you won’t have to worry about experiencing oral trauma that could land you a visit to your emergency dentist!

Schedule Your Routine Checkups & Cleanings

Just like with your natural teeth, bi-annual checkups and cleanings will remain a crucial part of your routine for dental implant care in Annapolis. During these visits, your implant dentist can make sure that your new restorations are functioning properly and address any damage or oral health problems earlier on, before they have a chance to wreak havoc on your new smile.

Can I Get Dental Implants If I Have Gum Disease?

Unfortunately, if you’ve lost teeth from gum disease, you cannot get dental implants until after the infection has been treated. Gum disease is preventable, but at least 50% of Americans have it. The infection can be treated quickly in the earliest stage without causing any long-term damage, but it often goes undetected. As the infection worsens, it destroys the supporting structures for your teeth, leading to tooth loss.

Besides tooth loss, it can compromise your jawbone’s density, making you an unsuitable candidate for dental implants. You can stop the infection and repair the damage with periodontal therapy and bone grafting. After your oral health has been restored, you can complete your smile with dental implants.

Do Dental Implants Feel Like Your Real Teeth?

Dental implants are the next best thing to your real teeth. They are the only treatment to replace the entire structure of your tooth, including the root. Your jawbone fuses to the implant post to provide a stable foundation for your replacement tooth. In fact, you can regain as much as 70% of your biting force to enjoy your favorite foods again. You’ll never need to worry about any slipping or irritation, so you can smile and speak confidently.

How Long Is the Recovery for Dental Implants?

The first step in your treatment is your placement surgery, which has the longest recovery time. Since it involves oral surgery, it’s normal to be worried about pain while you heal, but many patients report it to be no worse than a tooth extraction.

After your implant posts are placed, your gum tissue will be healed in a couple of weeks, but your jawbone will need more time. The implant posts stimulate your jaw to encourage new bone growth. Over the next several weeks, your jawbone fuses to the posts through a process called osseointegration. This allows them to potentially remain in place forever.

Can Dental Implants Fail?

Dental implants are the most predictable and reliable tooth replacement option, but they can fail. The risk of implant failure is generally less than 5%. Most often, it’s the result of a preventable infection called peri-implantitis. You can reduce your risk of complications by maintaining your oral hygiene at home and visiting your dentist in Annapolis at least twice a year for a cleaning and checkup.

We want you to feel confident in your decision to replace your missing teeth. If you have questions about dental implants, don’t hesitate to ask. We look forward to rebuilding your smile!

Am I Too Young to Get Dental Implants?

In general, dental implants in Annapolis are not recommended for patients younger than 18. Most people’s jaws aren’t fully developed until young adulthood, with men’s jaws typically taking longer to develop than women’s jaws do. Some people’s jaws don’t fully develop until they have reached their mid-20s. If dental implants are placed before the jaw is finished growing, it could interfere with further bone development and potentially result in complications. For this reason, we typically recommend other restorative options to our younger patients with missing teeth.

Can I Get Dental Implants If I Smoke?

If you’re interested in dental implants, you may want to consider quitting tobacco. Smokers can undergo implant treatment, but they have a higher rate of implant failure compared to nonsmokers. Smoking, chewing, or even vaping tobacco can interfere with an implant’s ability to fuse with the jawbone. Smoking can also cause dry socket, a painful condition that occurs when the blood clot that forms over the implant site is removed. If you’re unwilling or unable to kick the habit entirely, you should at least quit two weeks before the procedure and wait for at least two or three months afterward before resuming smoking.

Do Dental Implants Decay?

No. Dental implants are artificial and not made of enamel, so they cannot get cavities. However, your remaining natural teeth are still susceptible to tooth decay. In addition, the gums around a dental implant can still become infected. Untreated gum disease can lead to bone loss that undermines the integrity of an implant. For these reasons, you will still need to practice excellent oral hygiene after getting dental implants and visit an implant dentist in Annapolis every six months for a checkup and cleaning.

Do Dental Implants Make You Look Younger?

Yes! Not only can dental implants restore the appearance and function of your smile, but they can also make you look younger overall. Whenever you enjoy a meal, the force of biting and chewing spreads through the roots of your teeth to stimulate your jawbone. However, when teeth go missing, the jawbone loses that stimulation and begins to deteriorate. If your jawbone shrinks and can no longer support your facial structures, you may eventually appear more wrinkled, with a sunken-in face and fine lines around your mouth. Dental implants are the only type of restoration that can stimulate the jawbone like natural teeth and keep you looking young and vibrant.

How Long Have Dental Implants Been Around?

Modern dental implants have been around since the 1970s. Several decades earlier, a Swedish orthopedic surgeon discovered that he couldn’t remove a small titanium cylinder he had placed in a bone to study the healing process. This discovery kicked off more scientific research into implant treatment and the development of the modern titanium implants used today. However, if we go even further back, in 600 A.D. archeologists discovered ancient Mayan skulls with pieces of seashells and carved stones like jade replacing missing teeth. Some of these early dental implants had actually fused to the jawbone. Thankfully, modern dental implants in Annapolis are much more reliable and precise!