When Is Dental Implant Surgery Needed?

Dental implant surgery becomes necessary when you miss one or several teeth and don’t consider bridges or dentures suitable for yourself. You might understand the need to replace your missing teeth because you want to avoid the consequences of losing teeth which might aggravate your situation.

Missing teeth can cause bite misalignments and alter the shape of your face, making you self-conscious about your smile. When you discuss replacing the missing teeth with the dentist in New Port Richey, they will not hesitate to suggest artificial teeth surgically embedded in your jawbone using dental implants to serve as the root of your missing tooth.

The thought of undergoing surgery to replace a missing tooth can make you wonder about dental implant costs and the trouble you must endure when recovering from the surgical process. However, if you intend to have a natural-looking artificial tooth, you find no better option than dental implants to substitute for your natural tooth.

About Dental Implants

After their introduction in the late 50s dental implants have established themselves as the gold standard for replacing missing teeth over dentures and bridges sitting on the gums or attached to the neighboring teeth. Dental implants are biocompatible titanium posts resembling screws embedded deep into your jawbone in a surgical process requiring approximately an hour to complete for each missing tooth. The dental implant comprises three parts: the titanium post, an abutment, and a dental crown.

While getting dental implants near you, the dentist inserts the titanium post deep into your jawbone after giving you local anesthesia and sutures the area to let the titanium post integrate with your body in a process called osseointegration. You receive the abutment after you have recovered from the surgery and osseointegration, requiring three to six months. Finally, the placement of the dental crown completes the process of getting artificial teeth with dental implants. The entire procedure requires approximately nine months, depending on your oral and overall health. Therefore if you intend to have dental implants to replace your missing teeth, you must prepare for the long haul without expecting overnight results from the implant procedure.

Caring for Your Investment

When getting dental implants in New Port Richey, FL, you make considerable investments in the treatment procedure and spend months on your recovery by adhering to the dentist’s instructions. However, it helps if you remember dental implants are robust solutions for replacing missing teeth and will likely remain with you for life with proper care and excellent dental hygiene.

You will experience discomfort after getting dental implants embedded in your jawbone. The pain will likely remain with you for approximately a couple of weeks, during which time the dentist recommends you take over-the-counter painkillers and use self-care to alleviate the swelling in your cheeks.

You receive instructions from the dentist to refrain from having crunchy and hard foods and relying on the softer variety to ensure you don’t irritate or damage the surgical site of the implant. You must continue following the dentist’s instructions for over a month, after which you can start incorporating your regular diet into your daily food intake.

While the dentist suggests you remain careful near the surgical site when brushing and flossing during the initial days, you can continue to clean near the area using salt water rinses and a soft-bristled toothbrush to gently clean around the implant. Besides the above, you must visit your dentist for exams and cleanings to ensure you don’t have dental plaque accumulating around your natural teeth and the implants. Dental plaque results in gum disease, a leading contributor to implant failure. Therefore when caring for your investment, you must ensure you can for your natural teeth and the implanted teeth similarly to have them in your mouth as long as possible.

Get Dental Implant Surgery

After reading the description about dental implants and caring for them, are you willing to get dental implant surgery? If you intend to have a permanent replacement for your missing teeth, we suggest you consult Dr. Mitul Patel to evaluate your oral and overall health to determine whether you are eligible for dental implants. Although dental implants are excellent for replacing missing teeth, they are unsuitable for many, including patients with immunosuppressive health conditions, inadequate jawbone, and smoking practices like smoking, et cetera. However, if you meet the criteria needed for dental implants, consider undergoing the surgical process preparing yourself for the investment and the care required by your artificial teeth after your recovery.

Dental Arts New Port Richey provides dental implants for many patients after evaluating their oral and overall health. Whether losing one or several teeth, dental implants help replace them with natural-looking substitutes that remain with them for life with proper care. Consult this practice today to ascertain your candidacy for dental implants and get the surgical process to replace your missing teeth with a permanent solution.