What To Know Before Having Dental Implant Surgery.
Missing one or more of your teeth? You should consider getting dental implant surgery near you.
What Is Dental Implant Surgery?
Dental implant surgery is a procedure that replaces the roots of your damaged teeth with metal, screw-like posts and replaces damaged or missing teeth with artificial teeth that look and function much like real ones. This surgery offers an alternative to bridgework or dentures, often making it an ideal procedure for most patients.
How dental implant surgery is performed depends on a few key factors. The first being the type of implant and the second being the condition of your jawbone. Sometimes, dental implant surgery involve multiple procedures and take additional time to heal fully.
Why is the Procedure is Needed?
Dental implants are surgically placed in your jawbone. The procedure replaces the roots missing in the teeth. These implants are different compared to bridgework and dentures. The metal in the implant fuses with your jawbone over time. This makes prevents the implants from making noise, slipping, or causing bone damage. The materials are also unable to decay, forming a longer lasting bond.
Dental implants may be right for you if you:
- Have one or more missing teeth
- Have healthy oral tissues
- Don’t have health conditions that will affect bone healing
- Are not interested in dentures
- Are not a smoker
- Want to improve your speech
- Have adequate bone to secure the implants or are able to have a bone graft
What to expect
This type of procedure is usually an outpatient surgery performed in several stages. This allows you time between procedures to heal. There are multiple steps during the process, including:
- Dental implant placement
- Artificial tooth placement
- Jawbone preparation (grafting), when needed
- Bone growth and healing
- Damaged tooth removal
- Abutment placement
The process, from start to finish, may take multiple months. The majority of that time is devoted to waiting for the growth of new bone in your jaw and healing.
After the procedure
Patients may experience common discomforts associated with any type of dental surgery, such as:
- Pain at or around the implant site
- Minor bruising of your skin
- Minor bruising of your gums
- Swelling of your face
- Swelling of your gums
- Minor bleeding around the implant
Patients may need antibiotics to help deal with an infection before and after the surgery. Additionally, you may require medication to help with post-surgical pain. If swelling, discomfort or any problems arise after surgery, make sure to contact your oral surgeon.
Post Dental Surgery Tips
- Avoid heavy physical activity. It can result in increased bleeding, swelling, and pain.
- Rest frequently and get plenty of sleep. This will allow the body to recover.
- Use ice packs to reduce the swelling.
Contact us today for more information.
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