There are many ways to replace missing teeth, preventing neighboring teeth from shifting and causing additional complications. However, there is only one tooth replacement procedure out there that replaces the entire tooth’s structure, not just the visible portion that appears in your smile. This includes the root, which is responsible for many important oral functions. At Fromuth & Langlois Dental of Manchester, we’re proud to offer dental implants in Manchester as a way to help our patients regain full and complete smiles. We’ll make sure that your next restoration, whether it’s an implant-supported crown, bridge, or denture, looks as good as it feels. Just call us today to get started!
A dental implant is a titanium post that is placed into your jawbone to act as a root for a lost tooth. A metal attachment, called an abutment, is fixed to the post to secure your custom-made restoration (crown, bridge, or denture) into place. This allows you to enjoy a close replica of your natural pearly whites in both appearance and function. Although you will need oral surgery, you’ll have a solution that looks and feels natural, improves your oral health, and can last for several decades with the right aftercare, like maintaining your oral hygiene.
Dental implants are fairly unique compared to other forms of tooth replacement. The process itself can take months, and the exact length of time can vary depending on the complexity of the procedure and your body’s ability to heal. It may take a while, but a beautiful, stable smile is waiting for you at the end of the treatment! There are four major steps that the process will generally follow: the initial consultation, the placement surgery, osseointegration, and restoration.
Dr. Fromuth will spend the first appointment going over your health history and examining your mouth. The goal of this visit is to determine whether or not dental implant surgery is a good option in your case; if we do decide that it’s the best choice available to replace your teeth, we can begin the process of planning the rest of the treatment. Preliminary procedures like bone grafting and gum disease therapy may need to be scheduled at this point. We’ll be sure to go over the entire timeline with you very carefully and discuss the costs associated with the process so that you aren’t caught off-guard moving forward.
This part of the treatment will be performed by one of the dental implant specialists that our practice has partnered with. Putting an expert in charge of the surgery tends to lead to the best possible results. Implant surgery is a minimally invasive process; a small incision is made in the gums so that the surgeon can make a hole in the jaw. Once the implant has been inserted into the hole, the gums will be closed up so that they can heal. A local anesthetic will be used so that you don’t feel anything during the procedure, and you’ll be given instructions for staying as comfortable as possible while recovering.
It takes around four to six months for dental implants to fuse with the jawbone through a process called osseointegration. (It may take more or less time depending on how many implants you received. Also, not everyone’s mouth heals at the same rate.) After a while, you’ll receive an abutment to be placed on top of the implants. The abutment is the part that holds the final restoration. You’ll need to wait about two to three weeks for the gums to heal after the abutment has been attached; afterwards, we can move on to the final step.
By the time of your final appointment, your mouth should have fully healed from previous procedures, meaning you’re ready for a permanent restoration. We design each restoration so that it blends in flawlessly with your other teeth and your gum tissue. After your new tooth is in place, we’ll give you a chance to get used to it and make sure that it feels comfortable. Then we can discuss the best strategies for taking care of an implant restoration.
What makes dental implants in Manchester such a highly recommended tooth replacement treatment among patients and professionals alike? With so many aesthetic and health benefits, we want our patients to be able to enjoy the latest restorative treatment that the dental world has to offer so you don’t miss out. To learn about what benefits dental implants can offer you, be sure to schedule a consultation today!
Dental implant posts are made from titanium, a highly biocompatible metal. Because of this, once they’re inserted into your jawbone, they are able to naturally fuse with it. This allows your implants to act like the natural roots of your teeth, providing the jawbone with stimulation and blood flow that keep it from deteriorating from not being used over time.
With the proper maintenance and daily care, your dental implants are able to last for over 35 years. That’s four times longer than the average lifespan of traditional tooth replacement options such as dentures. This is due to the fact that the implants are made from biocompatible titanium that is able to form a small oxide layer around them when they’re surgically placed. This layer prevents them from corroding or breaking down, allowing the implants to provide your restorations with long-lasting durability and strength.
Another great benefit of dental implants in Manchester is that they’re easy to care for. They’re one of the closest replacement solutions to your natural pearly whites, allowing you to take care of them in practically the same way. All you need to do to ensure the health of your implants is keep up with your daily oral hygiene routine, visit our office every six months for checkups and cleanings, protect
Once the implants have been placed, it will take time for your mouth to fully recover. You will be provided with dental implant post-op instructions in Manchester so that you can make a swift and simple recovery. You may have to follow some additional steps or take further precautions depending on your situation and the exact dental implant procedure you undergo, but generally speaking, you can expect the instructions you receive to touch on all of the following points.
You should plan on going home and resting for the remainder of the day. You should be able to return to your normal routine within 24 or 48 hours, but as for the period directly after the surgery, you should focus on managing your discomfort and protecting the surgical site. A blood clot will form around the area, and you need to make sure that it stays untouched so that your gums can heal successfully. Avoid behaviors like drinking from straws, smoking, swallowing saliva, and putting your fingers on the surgery site, as all of these can disturb the blood clot.
The initial discomfort that you experience after implant surgery will fade over time, and you can control it with prescribed or recommended pain relievers. Some gradual or intermittent bleeding may occur at first; use gauze to apply pressure to the area until the blood stops. Swelling may last for over a week, but it can be reduced by holding a cold compress to your cheek or jaw for 10-minute intervals. If at any point these symptoms appear to grow worse – or if they don’t go away after a certain amount of time has passed – call our office immediately.
You’ll need to eat soft foods for a few days while your mouth is healing. Good options include mashed potatoes, yogurt, ice cream, pudding, soup, scrambled eggs, and pasta; we can provide other suggestions if you need them. It shouldn’t be too long before you’re able to return to a normal diet; you can start eating more solid foods when you’re confident that you can handle them. However, you should still be careful to avoid chewing directly with the implant surgery site until you’ve received a restoration.
You need to keep your mouth as clean as possible so that an infection doesn’t occur before your mouth has fully healed. Continue to brush as you normally would (but be as gentle as possible around the surgery site). Rinse your mouth with salt water or a prescription mouth wash after each meal. Do not drink alcohol or use alcohol-based oral hygiene products.
Once a crown or another dental prosthetic has been attached to your implants, some minor sensitivity may occur, but it won’t be anything that you can’t handle with pain medication. However, bleeding or swelling should not occur at this point; if you notice such symptoms, call us immediately.
Dental implants may have an extremely high success rate and can last for a lifetime, but it all largely depends on how well you take care of them. If the implants become damaged, or if the tissue around them becomes infected, you might have to get a replacement. Fortunately, avoiding dental implant failure is actually relatively simple; you just need to adopt the right oral hygiene habits to protect the posts while keeping the rest of the mouth healthy.
You might think that since dental implants can’t get cavities that you don’t have to worry about cleaning them the same way you do your natural teeth. The truth is that bacteria can still build up on your implants, and that can lead to gum disease and other oral health issues if you aren’t proactive. As such, when you brush and floss your teeth each day (ideally once in the morning and once in the evening), make sure that you’re giving your implants the same attention that you give your natural teeth.
Dental implants let you eat whatever you want – which means that you have a responsibility to choose foods that are beneficial to your smile. Try not to eat too many hard or sticky foods that can potentially damage your implants. You should also stay away from sugar as much as possible. Instead, try eating more foods with plenty of calcium and vitamin C in order to maintain a strong jawbone and healthy gum tissue so that your implants stay safely anchored in place.
There are numerous bad habits that can cause dental implants to break or otherwise lead to failure. Once you receive your new teeth, you should:
Even though dental implants are made out of extremely durable titanium, they’re far from indestructible. Thus, you need to make sure that they’re well-protected (along with your other teeth) by wearing a personalized mouthguard whenever you play any kind of sport. If you have problems with grinding your teeth at night, you should get a nightguard to prevent the upper and lower arches from making direct contact with each other, thus drastically reducing wear and tear.
Continue to visit us every 6 months for regular checkups and cleanings. We can monitor your mouth and check for early warning signs of gum disease and potential implant failure so that potential issues can be dealt with immediately. Virtually any oral health issues that can threaten the longevity of your implants will be easier to deal with if it’s caught as early as possible.