mid

Are You a Candidate for Implants?

Are You a Candidate for Implants?

A New Life with Dental Implants in Pasadena

You don’t have to spend the rest of your life wearing dentures or dental bridges thanks to dental implants.

While implanting something into your jaw to replace a tooth is nothing new, they would use everything from a carved tooth to animal teeth and seashells in the old days, it’s much better than it used to be and in most cases a success. You can only imagine how many dental implant failures occurred in Ancient Greece.

What are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are surgically placed in or on your jawbone acting as natural tooth roots with the post fusing itself to the bone. This is a process called osseointegration.

Once the implants have healed, which can take anywhere from six months to a year or more if you need bone grafting, artificial natural looking teeth are placed on top of the screws.

The posts will last for the rest of your life and so will your teeth as long as you practice good oral hygiene. While the teeth won’t decay, they still need to be cleaned.

Brushing twice, flossing once each day, and scheduling regular dental checkups  is the best way to keep your dental implants healthy.

Good Candidates for Dental Implants

While 95 percent of people are good candidates for dental implants, even people with dentures can have dental implants, people who smoke and people who suffer from certain systemic diseases may have implant failure.

If you do smoke, quit as it hampers the healing process. It is also important to remember that people who smoke have a higher risk of gum disease as well.

Bone Grafting

For people who do not have enough jaw to support the implant post bone grafting may be recommended.

Bone grafting restores jaw function, and facial contour while encouraging tissue growth. Bone graft surgery for dental implants adds a few weeks or months to overall healing time as the bone graft must be fused to the bone before continuing with the dental implant process.

Dental Implants in Pasadena

If you would like to learn more about single, multiple, or full dental implants, call and schedule a consultation with Dr. Paul Shinto and his team.