Dental Implants — Altamonte Springs, FL
The Most Long-Lasting & Natural-Looking Tooth Replacement Solution
Dental implants are currently the premier tooth replacement solution available today. With this treatment, your missing teeth in Altamonte Springs will literally be restored from the root up, giving you the most natural-looking and longest-lasting results possible. Our team of dentists has teamed up with local oral surgeons to rebuild thousands of smiles using implants over the years, and whether a person is missing a single tooth or an entire mouthful, the end product is always a renewed and beautiful smile. Are you ready to say “goodbye!” to the gaps in your teeth? If so, contact us today.
Why Choose Distinctive Dentistry on Maitland For Dental Implants?
- Proud to Partner with Talented Local Oral Surgeons
- Reasonable and Fair Fees with No Surprises
- Can Replace Any Number of Missing Teeth
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants have three major parts: the dental implant post, the abutment, and the final restoration. The implant post is inserted into your jawbone to mimic the roots of your missing tooth, while the abutment connects the final crown, bridge, or denture on top. This unique placement offers a wide variety of advantages over traditional tooth replacement options, which is why dentists consider it the gold standard for rebuilding smiles. When you replace missing teeth both above and below the gumline, the result is a smile that looks, feels, and functions, just like natural!
The 4 Step Dental Implant Process
Replacing one or more missing teeth with dental implants is a more complex process than receiving a traditional bridge or denture. Before your journey begins, we’ll walk you through the entire treatment process step by step so that you’ll understand exactly how your new smile will work. While every patient’s plan differs, below you’ll find some of the basic steps of how dental implants work in Altamonte Springs.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
The first step in your tooth replacement journey is a consultation with one of our dentists. During this appointment, we’ll thoroughly examine your smile, discuss your restoration options, and create a personalized plan to meet your unique needs. We may also recommend certain preparatory treatments, such as bone grafting or gum disease therapy, to increase your chances of implant success.
Dental Implant Surgery
Once your smile is ready, you can schedule your implant placement procedure. We partner with the best oral surgeons in the area to give you the best care possible.
During the surgery, your gums are opened up to access your jawbone, and the posts are placed inside the bone at strategic angles and locations. A protective cap is placed over the implant to protect it and maintain the shape of your gum tissue during the healing process.
Dental Implant Osseointegration/Abutment
Depending on how many implants you received and your body’s healing abilities, it can take three to six months for the implants to fuse to your jawbone. This process is called osseointegration. After this process is finished, you’ll undergo another minor surgery to receive your abutments, which are small metal attachments that connect your implants to your restoration. A few weeks later, you’ll return to our office, where your implant dentist in Altamonte Springs will take impressions of your mouth and send them off to a trusted dental lab. From there, a team of professional ceramists will begin crafting your replacement teeth to our exact specifications. We may place a temporary restoration in the meantime.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
Once your personalized crown, bridge, or denture has arrived from the lab, our team can remove your temporaries and place your permanent restoration onto your implant posts. This lifelike solution should provide you with decades of full, beautiful smiles!
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants have countless benefits to offer patients, which is why they are one of the most recommended tooth replacement solutions available. Some advantages that you can enjoy include:
- A natural look and feel
- Restored bite
- Simple maintenance
- Long-lasting tooth replacement treatment
- Versatile procedure that can replace one tooth or an entire arch of missing teeth
- No slipping, shifting, or use of messy denture adhesive
- Improved confidence and quality of life
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Dental implants can help address any number of missing teeth. During your consultation, we’ll carefully evaluate your jaws, gums, and any remaining teeth before fully explaining all your replacement options. Alongside all the different types of dental implants that you may benefit from, we may also work with you to solve additional oral health issues like gum disease and decayed teeth before your treatment begins to maximize the successfulness of your procedure.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?
Almost anyone can rebuild their smile with dental implants. Typically, you’ll need three things to be considered a good candidate:
- Great oral health
- Good overall health
- Adequate jawbone density
If you don’t meet these requirements, we’ll work with you to correct whatever issues are standing between you and your new smile. Then, we can move on to choosing the right kind of dental implant for you based on the extent of your tooth loss:
Missing 1 Tooth
If you are missing a single tooth, our team will use what is called an implant-retained crown to bring it back. It will consist of three main parts: an all-porcelain dental crown, an abutment, and the dental implant itself. The implant is actually a small titanium post that will be placed into your jaw to mimic the root structure of your lost tooth. The crown will be connected to it via the abutment, and the end result is a new tooth that is virtually indistinguishable from those around it in both look and function.
Missing Multiple Teeth
If you are missing a few teeth in a row, we can actually use these implant crowns to replace them without having to sacrifice neighboring healthy teeth (which is the case with a traditional bridge). One implant crown will be placed on either side of the gap in your smile, and these will be bonded to prosthetic teeth to close it. This will not only restore your smile’s appearance, but it will also prevent the surround teething from drifting into the space (which often happens).
Missing All Teeth
If you are missing an entire arch of teeth and want a strong, comfortable denture, you may be interested in implant dentures. For this method, we anchor an entire denture into place with four to six dental implants. This eliminates many of the issues that come with traditional dentures, such as slipping at embarrassing moments or irritating the gums.
In some cases, we may even be able to replace your missing teeth in a single day with All-On-4/Teeth-in-a-Day! This treatment is ideal for patients who are missing all their teeth on one or both arches and have a thin or brittle jawbone. Once your dental implants are placed by a local surgeon, a temporary denture is secured into place to give you a complete smile while your mouth heals over the next few months.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Are you hesitant to commit to dental implants because of their price tag? If so, our team at Distinctive Dentistry on Maitland invites you to thoroughly consider this treatment. While many people find the cost of dental implants in Altamonte Springs to be the only thing holding them back, we wouldn’t recommend them unless we believed that they’re worth every single penny. To learn more about the factors that influence dental implant cost, keep reading below, or give us a call!
Types of Dental Implants
The number of implants you need is the primary factor affecting the price of your treatment. For instance, replacing a single lost tooth with just one implant post and a dental crown will cost significantly less than receiving several implants with a complex restoration (such as a bridge or denture). Furthermore,dental implants can be made from a variety of different manufacturers and be placed in multiple ways. When you meet with your implant dentist in Altamonte Springs for your consultation, we can discuss each of these variables and how they will impact your overall cost.
The Stages of Dental Implant Treatment
Because the dental implant process occurs in several phases over the course of multiple months, you won’t have to pay for the entire treatment at once. You can break up your payment into more manageable chunks.
Some patients require preliminary treatment, such as gum disease therapy, tooth extractions, or bone grafting, to prepare them for implants. After that, you have the implant placement surgery, then the installation of your abutments, and finally, the design and placement of your permanent restoration.
Are Dental Implants Worth the Investment?
When it comes to replacing missing teeth, we believe that dental implants in Altamonte Springs are the best smile investment you can make. Not only will your new teeth look and feel amazing, but this treatment can actually save you money in the long run. Dental implants can potentially last 30 years or even longer, while traditional dentures and bridges only last 5 to 10 years on average. You’ll just pay a one-time fee when you first get implants instead of frequently paying to repair or replace other options. Eventually, these adjustments might end up costing more than the initial dental implant price!
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
In most cases, your dental insurance provider won’t cover the cost of the implants themselves. However, they might partially cover other parts of the treatment, such as your restoration or preliminary work. Our team is happy to file claims and maximize benefits for all PPO dental insurance plans.
If you need a little extra help funding your new smile, we encourage you to ask us about applying for a low-to-no interest loan through CareCredit.
Dental Implant FAQs
Do you have questions about how life with dental implants will be different? Are you wondering what the process of replacing missing teeth with dental implants in Altamonte Springs will be like? Our team at Distinctive Dentistry on Maitland is happy to provide you with the answers you’re looking for. If you don’t see the information you need below, please don’t hesitate to call our office to ask one of our staff members directly!
Does dental implant surgery hurt?
Some of our patients who have never undergone oral surgery before feel nervous about their dental implant placement, and that’s completely understandable! Your implant dentist in Altamonte Springs partners with local expert oral surgeons to make this part of the treatment as precise and comfortable as possible. Depending on how many dental implants you’re having placed, they’ll either administer a local anesthetic to completely numb the area so you can’t feel a thing or use sedation to help you reach a calmed and relaxed state.
In less complicated cases, our patients usually feel back to their normal selves within a day or two after their surgery.
Do dental implants last longer than dentures?
Yes. On average, traditional restorations like dentures only last between five and seven years before they need to be repaired or replaced. Dental implants have been shown to last for 35 years or longer with the proper maintenance. Although they have a higher up-front price tag, their lifespan often makes them just as cost-effective as traditional dentures or bridges.
How can I avoid dental implant failure?
Dental implants boast an impressive 95 percent success rate, even for patients who have had them for 10 years! While the risk of implant failure is low, there are a few habits or conditions that could increase your risk of experiencing this problem.
Tobacco use and uncontrolled autoimmune diseases have been known to slow down the osseointegration and healing process after dental implant placement, ultimately leading to failed fusion with the jawbone or peri-implantitis, or an oral infection. If you either use tobacco products or have a medical condition that impacts your immune system, please let us know during your initial consultation so we can make plans to minimize any risk of complications throughout the process.
Do I need to be worried about cavities if I have dental implants?
Even though your prosthetics can’t get cavities, your dental implants can become infected if you’re not mindful of maintaining good oral health. It’s important to brush your teeth twice each day for at least two minutes, floss daily, and rinse with antibacterial mouthwash to keep your gums healthy and minimize your risk of implant failure.