Dental Implants

Your teeth perform some critical functions every day. Not only do they allow you to bite and chew your food, but they are also an important factor in proper digestion and nutrition. Your teeth allow you to speak properly by controlling airflow. They help to keep your jawbone healthy and strong by stimulating the bone so that nutrients are sent by the rest of the body. Your teeth also provide you with a beautiful, confident smile. Missing teeth, no matter how many, impacts all of these functions. Replacing missing teeth is essential for restoring all of the jobs that they perform. At Blue Summit Dental Group, we provide dental implants as an option for restoring the function, health, and beauty of your mouth.

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are a fairly recent addition to the options available for tooth replacement. They consist of three major components:

  • The implant. The implant itself is a small titanium rod that is surgically inserted into the jawbone. Once in place, the implants rely on a process called osseointegration. This is the fusion of your jawbone to the titanium as you heal. With successful osseointegration, the implant becomes a strong, stable support, or root.
  • The abutment. This piece is a small connector piece that is placed on the top of the dental implant, connecting the implant and the crown.
  • The crown. The crown, typically made from ceramic, is made to look and function exactly like the rest of your natural teeth.

All of these components work together to provide you with a beautiful, natural, fully-functional smile, allowing you to get your life, and your confidence, back.

Types of Dental Implants

Dental implants can be used to replace any number of missing teeth. To meet your specific needs, there are several different types:

  • Single tooth implants. A single tooth implant is meant to replace a single missing tooth. One implant supports a single crown. It is possible to have several single-tooth implants in your mouth.
  • Multiple tooth implants. A multiple tooth implant, also called an implant supported bridge, is designed to replace sections of missing teeth. One or more dental implants are used to support your replacement teeth.
  • Implant supported dentures. An implant supported denture replaces an entire arch of missing teeth. Typically, 6 to 8 dental implants are placed per arch.

How Are Implants Placed?

Implants require a surgical procedure. After a local anesthetic (and sedation, if necessary), incisions are made in the gums. We then drill holes into your jawbone, following a custom treatment plan designed just for you. We then insert the titanium rods and close the tissue around them, leaving a small section of the rod exposed.

Healing from surgery can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. While you heal, you will have temporary teeth, which will restore some of the functions of your mouth. As you heal, we will monitor your healing progress, making sure that the bone is indeed fusing with the rod. Once you have fully healed, we then place the abutments and take impressions. These impressions are used to design and create your custom, permanent replacement teeth. When they are ready, we screw them into place.

Benefits of Dental Implants

Dental implants have several benefits:

  • You can eat all of your favorite foods again. With the ability to properly chew your food, your digestion (and overall nutrition) is also improved.
  • Your speech returns to normal.
  • Your oral health is improved.
  • You regain your beautiful smile, as well as your confidence.
  • Implants are more comfortable.
  • Implants are a permanent solution to tooth loss.
  • Implants are more comfortable than other replacement options, with your teeth supported by the implants themselves rather than your gums.
  • Implants help to prevent the bone loss that typically follows tooth loss.

If you have suffered tooth loss, don’t wait. Contact Blue Summit Dental Group at (810) 658-9177 to find out if dental implants are right for you.  

Dental services we offer to our Davison community