Thanks to dental implants, you can replace permanent teeth that are lost due to trauma, poor oral hygiene, or extractions. At Dental Excellence of Allentown, general, cosmetic, and implant specialist Tejas Patel, DDS, and the team use dental implants to preserve smiles and encourage optimal oral health. To make an appointment, call the office in Allentown, Pennsylvania, or book online today.
Dental implants are metal posts that your Dental Excellence of Allentown provider inserts into your jaw during outpatient surgery. After placement, the implants fuse with your jawbone, providing a base for crowns, bridges, or implant-retained overdentures.
Since dental implants don’t rely on your other teeth for support, they usually last longer than other restorations. In fact, with routine checkups and preventive maintenance, dental implants often last a lifetime*.
Dental implants provide a wide range of benefits, including:
Dental implants may even improve your oral health. By replacing teeth lost to trauma or extractions, you can reduce the risk of other problems, like gum recession and bone loss.
To qualify for dental implants, you need healthy gums and enough bone to support them. If your Dental Excellence of Allentown provider determines that you have low bone volume or gum disease, they may recommend another type of treatment first, like a bone graft or scaling and root planing.
Make sure to let the team know if you have any underlying health problems, like high blood pressure or diabetes. These conditions won’t prevent you from getting dental implants, but they may increase the risk of complications, so it’s important to address this before surgery.
At Dental Excellence of Allentown, getting dental implants takes three visits.
If your provider determines that you have healthy gums and enough jawbone to support dental implants, they numb your mouth with a local anesthetic and insert a series of metal posts into your jaw.
After surgery, your provider writes you a prescription for pain medication and provides recovery instructions.
Several months later, when the implants finish fusing with your jaw, you return to Dental Excellence of Allentown. Your provider takes impressions of your mouth and sends them to a nearby dental lab.
People at the lab use your impressions to design and make custom restorations, like crowns, bridges, or implant-retained overdentures.
When the lab finishes your custom dental restoration, you return to Dental Excellence of Allentown. Your dentist attaches your restorations to your dental implants and provides after-care instructions.
Caring for dental implants is similar to caring for your permanent teeth. The team at Dental Excellence of Allentown recommends brushing your teeth twice daily, flossing regularly, and visiting the office every six months for an oral exam and professional teeth cleaning.
Request a dental implant consultation at Dental Excellence of Allentown by calling the office or booking online today.
*Individual results may vary