Do You Qualify to Get a Dental Implant

A dental implant does more than just give you a chance to have your tooth back; it has changed the entire complexion of the conversation about tooth loss. Previously when you lost teeth, you had the option of choosing either wires and cement or the adhesive that would bond your dentures in place. Today there is a more sophisticated option that not only replaces your visible tooth structure, also known as the crown but replaces the root as well. Dental implants are the most secure and stable way to replace lost teeth.

As a new technology, people have a lot of questions about getting a dental implant. For example, patients want to know how long dental implants last, what the procedures are for placing them, and whether or not they are eligible to get them. As far as the last question goes, there are really no reasons why a person would not be eligible for dental implants, provided their body, and specifically their mouth, are healthy enough for the surgery and for sustaining and supporting the implant as long as it lasts. It is important to remember, from an eligibility standpoint, that dental implants are placed directly into your jawbone by an oral surgeon or a periodontist.

This involves surgery, and you need to be healthy enough for this surgery. Some of the things that may automatically preclude you from getting dental implants include: untreated or out of control periodontal disease, diabetes that has not be treated, cancer that requires ongoing radiation treatments, smoking, and alcoholism. Each of these may restrict your body's ability to bond with the implants or its ability to heal, which drastically increases the probability that the implants will not work.

Dental implants have a very high rate of success, with some studies placing the success rate as high as 98%. This is partly because we take a great deal of care in ensuring that you are ready for a dental implant, sometimes deviating from the standard process to ensure that your jawbone can handle the implant. The journey to getting a dental implant or dental implants starts with a comprehensive examination. This examination will include X-rays and CT scans that give us a complete picture of the condition of your mouth and the density of your jawbone. Dental imaging will also tell us if there are any additional procedures that may be needed to shore up the jawbone. One of the most common procedures that we have to do is known as an alveolar bone graft. With this, we will place a cadaver or synthetic bone to ensure that the jawbone has enough density to withstand and support the implant. Sometimes we may also do a procedure known as an onlay bone graft. This is typically done when there is no tooth and there is insufficient bone available to successfully perform the implant placement. These surgeries take time to recover from, so you will be healing for around six months before the next phase of the implant process. For a few lucky patients, the damaged or missing tooth can immediately be replaced during the same appointment, which is known as an immediate implant placement.

Dental Veneers  >  Painless Dentist

The Longevity and Durability of Dental Veneers

Dental veneers are one of the most innovative ways to replace teeth enamel that has become damaged, discolored, or is no longer appealing to look at. When teeth are not as white as they should be or are misplaced, you can use dental veneers to help solve these problems. As they get more popular, people want to know how long these devices will last. This is actually a very good question. Dental veneers are placed by removing a small part of the surface enamel and then using dental cement to hold the dental veneers in place. From our perspective, we know that dental veneers tend to last at least 10 years. Naturally, this depends a great deal on how well you take care of your teeth and if you do things that may put your teeth and dental veneers at risk. There have been numerous studies done around the longevity of veneers. What we have found is that when we studied people who have veneers, the largest group was people whose veneers lasted between five and six years. When the time frame was expanded to between 10 and 11 years, that number dropped but not significantly. People whose veneers had lasted this long accounted for 93 percent, which was almost the same as people whose veneers had lasted for between 12 and 13 years (91 percent). This shows that people who take care of their veneers can have them last a very long time. The first real drop we saw in the study was when we expanded the life cycle of the dental veneers to between 15 and 16 years. When we looked at the number of patients whose veneers had lasted this long, we found that 71 percent still had their original veneers without any need for repair or replacement.

With dental veneers, as with many things, how well you take care of them will determine how well they will last for you. You cannot do things like using your teeth as a tool, as you risk damaging the teeth and can reduce the life of your dental veneers. We have found that of all the dental veneers that failed, 45 percent of them failed because they had a fracture due to trauma, which can include putting too much pressure on them. An additional 28 percent failed because they were cracked, also a kind of trauma. This shows a very direct correlation between how long your veneers can last and what you do with your teeth.

Another thing to be aware of when it comes to your veneers is that they will respond to your oral health habits. Bad habits can lead to things like gum disease, which can cause the dental veneers to fail. In fact, 13 percent of failed veneers did so because of complications with gum disease. Seven percent failed because of plaque buildup that took place because the patient had bad oral health habits. These are easy to avoid with a little bit of diligence and can greatly extend the life of your veneers.

Invisalign Dentist  >  Cosmetic Dentist