Dental Implants, what do they offer me, the patient?

Dental Implants, and tooth replacement therapy. 

How well do they work?  How do I know if a dental implant is right for me?  What kinds of dental implants are there and who do I go to, in order to hear all my options?  What do dental implants cost?  What do dental implants look like?

Dental Implants and replacing missing teeth beautifully 

Dental implants have been around for a long time .  In their modern form; for at least 20 years.  I noticed a turn for the better in dental implants and tooth replacement therapies about 7 years ago, and then another significan improvement about 4 years ago.  When they became even more reliable and easier to restore*. 

Implants have taken many forms over the years but I'm going to limit this article to the type and method of the implants we at Willow Creek Dental Care have actually done dozens of times and have firsthand knowledge of. So this article is really for people seeking alternatives to real life missing teeth situations.

Missing Teeth? 

Do you have missing teeth, want to correct your bite from missing teeth, if you have removable dentures or partial dentures or even bridges that you'd like to explore a more elegant option for replaceing missing teeth, tooth replacement therapy... then this article, website and dental office are for you.

We are going to post photographs of some recent cases to this page of the website soon.  We have been involved in the restoration of many dozens of implants over the past decade, and feel very confident in providing this type of treatment for people seeking to replace missing teeth.

From my experience as a restorative dentist over the past 20 years, the single root form implant is the most reliable and functional fixture to use for rehabilitation of bad bites due to missing teeth.  We can replace one missing tooth, or many teeth using this method.  The finished cases, from conversational distances with mouth and lips in normal positions look very natural; and they feel more like teeth than any other tooth replacement.  Prevention and saving the teeth God made for you is always preferable but sometimes it is unfortunately unavoidable that important teeth are lost.  In most of these cases, I reccomend implants to replace missing teeth over the other methods.  Implants also are easier to keep clean than bridges and chew better.  

Any exisiting patient of ours can have an implant consultation easily on your next appointment.  People seeking a new dental home that offers implants as a tooth replacement option, should feel welcome to call us and set up a simple exam appointment to discuss these options.

The illustrations for this article are in the works right now.  We are completing another implant case and I look forward to showing our readers an actual current case.

I have another article on this website about the need for back teeth in order to have a smile that is attractive and lasts.  You may want to read that article also...  entitled Hiking boots & High Heels, which would you choose now that you live in Prescott.  This article should be posted over the Thanksgiving holiday.  to summarize the article though, I draw on the personal experience of 20 years as a restorative dentist with about 10 of those years having heavy emphasis on cosmetic dentistry, and porcelain veneers.  Hiking boots represent big back teeth, and high heels represent you front teeth.  You need both if you want us to do a beautiful smile makeover for you.  We love doing smile designs and beautifying front teeth for people (high heels) but everyone needs back teeth to bite on for these cases to work long term.  Back teeth are the hiking boots.  If you are missing back teeth, and are noticing chipping and breaking or uneven wear of your FRONT teeth (the high heels).... we really must discuss  the correct bite of your back teeth (hiking boots) as part of our case planning for you.  Often to restore your bite most effectively, we offer implants for people missing back teeth.

But to answer a few of the questions we get a lot from people.  Do they work well, and reliably?  Yes they really do work well.  They are reliable, in well over a hundred of the type we are currently using, we've had zero failures.  All are working fine. 

How  do I know if they are right for me?  Well are you missing teeth that you want to replace?  That would be a first qualifyer.  there is no substitute for discussing treatment options with the doctor of dentistry that you've learned to trust.  I would say in this case someone with significant experience in doing dental implants and someone who has specific training in dental implants.  An important aspect to note here. According to my most recent implant classes, having an experienced restorative dentist PLAN out the case, is crucial to the success of implant cases.  So find an experienced restorative dentist, who can work with you on what the final result will look like and let him "quarter back" the case for you, even if other dental specialists are involved in your care; the general dentist, who is responsible for planning the case, and it's final result is key.  Develope a good relationship with a restorative dentist and discuss all treatment options to accomplish your goals. 

Questions About Dental Implants 

What do dental implants cost, and what do they look like?  The cost does vary depending on the skill, clinical judgement and experience of the operators involved but a single tooth implant is likely to cost about what a bridge does, something like that.  And what do they look like. They often look quite nice especially from conversational distance.  that is the distance you would stand and talk to someone from.... in our hands they look about like other porcelain crown options look like.  We have quite a few pages on this site showing our own porcelain crowns.  They just keep getting better and better, with more experience and better materials becomming avialeble.  One more cautionary note, I would advise you to choose a dentist who has experience working with the specialist who place the root forms portion of the implant, AND a dentist who uses laboratories to make the crowns and other parts that does the work in the United States, or possibly Scandinavia (Finland, Iceland, Sweden) who produce some of the all ceramic milled cores.  Because of some countries ban on using mercury, nickle and other metals in dentistry for many years, they have excelled in the use of all ceramic and titanium dental materials.   Many discounting offices are having lab work done cheaply in foreign lands and the results are just plain scarey to me. I would not have it for my family. This is my personal experience.

More on this, and illustrations of this topic soon.  If you want more first hand information, feel free to call us and schedule an appointment for exam and evaluation.  It is our pleasure to provide treatments that have such a high degree of patient satisfaction.

Until we get the rest of this article illustrated hopefully this will get you started in your thought process about dental implants.