Implants
Now replacing or repairing teeth is easier than ever

Feel a draft?

The only thing worse than losing a tooth is the continuing problem its loss causes- chewing incorrectly, as you try to compensate for the missing tooth. Embarrassment about your appearance is another problem.

Traditional treatments for replacing a missing tooth include a removable plastic tooth, or partial denture; a fixed bridge, which is cemented into place; or a set of full dentures.

Each option has its positive and negative features. The removable plastic tooth, for example, is very fragile and designed for temporary use. However, it is inexpensive. Fixed bridges and dentures are common, but the traditional problem is that after a while, the wearer can find them uncomfortable to varying degrees.

The better option is an implant. It's permanent, sturdy and once it heals, can support a tooth crafted to be indistinguishable from your other teeth.

The part of a tooth that you can see - basically, the part above the gum line - is called a crown. Beneath the gum line is the root. When a tooth is missing, both the crown and root are gone.

During an implant procedure, a titanium "root" is implanted into the bone of your jaw. After the bone heals around the titanium root, we place a support post in the implant, and then a crown on the support post. Healing time varies with the individual.

We aren't going to pretend that having an implant is a breeze. It can be uncomfortable for a short time, while it heals, and we do one implant per missing tooth, which in some cases means more sessions spread out over a longer period of time.

But there is a payoff.

We do implants carefully, painlessly and in a highly quality-conscious manner. Once you're finished, you'll have a tooth filling that gap. Not only will you look better, but implants are virtually as durable as your real teeth.

Dentures or replacement teeth rarely reach that level of quality. If they break or chip, they can be very costly to repair. Over time, if you have to replace a denture often enough, the cost and time spent in the chair often equal or surpass the time it would have taken to do an implant.

If you have a missing tooth, schedule a consultation with us to see if you are a candidate for an implant. We'll have to take what are called panoramic X-rays, plus check to see if your jaw will support an implant and allow for proper healing.

Whether you're the sort of person who believes in doing things right the first time or you want to correct an existing denture problem, implants are the procedure to explore.