Introduction to Dental Implants

There are basically 3 different parts to dental implants:

1. The Consultation

2.. The Dental Implant Surgery

3. Making and Installing the Tooth

Let's dive in to what those things mean.

At the consultation appointment, we need to assess 2 things.

First, we need to see if you have enough bone volume for the doctor to be able to place an implant into. We need to see if you have enough jawbone to have a successful procedure.

The best way to evaluate if there is enough bone is to use a machine called a Cone Beam CT. This is essentially a 3D image of your jaw. By using a 3D image, instead of the more traditional 2D images, the doctor is able to more predictably plan your surgery. This also means that it is far less likely you’ll run into any issues or surprises throughout your implant experience. 

The second thing the doctor needs to assess is if you are in good health to be able to successfully accept an implanted medical device. If you have any uncontrolled medical condition, we will want to make sure that it is sorted out prior to any surgery. Things such as smoking habits or diabetes, or osteoporosis status can negatively affect implant success. So we’ll want to know all of these details. 

The implant consultation is rather quick. At Just Implants, we do a 20 minute radiology appointment that gives the doctor everything needed to make the assessment. The doctor assesses all of your information and you will hear back within 48 hours about if you are a candidate for an implant at our practice. 

At this appointment a small titanium screw is surgically implanted into your jawbone. It's not as scary as it sounds though. The screw itself is only about 10mm long. So it is a very small screw and most patients are pleasantly surprised that the surgery is so easy. 

For patients who are missign the teeth in the area that they need the implant, it can be a pretty painless and hassle-free process. After the patient is seated and numbed up, the surgery itself can last anywhere from 25 minutes to 1 hour.

You might feel a bit of discomfort at home, but for routine dental implant procedures, it can normally be handled with just over the counter ibuprofen or Tylenol.

After the implant is placed, the dental implant needs to be left undisturbed within the bone. This is so that your body can form a blood clot directly onto the surface of the dental implant. This healing process of the bone fusing directly to the implant is called “osseointegration.” This healing phase can take anywhere from 3 to 5 months. 

After the bone has fused to the implant, it is time to start building your tooth.

The doctor will do something called “taking an impression.” This procedure is easy. The doctor takes a mold of the dental implant in your mouth by using silicone materials or by using a digital scanner. This mold is sent to a dental laboratory in order to custom mill the parts for your tooth. Also, the doctor helps pick the right shade for the new tooth at this appointment. 

After the materials and information are sent to the laboratory, a new tooth is typically ready within 2 weeks.

The installation of the tooth-implant is usually pretty easy. The parts are screwed down tight to your dental implant. Sometimes cement is used as well. The doctor checks that the tooth fits properly and in harmony with the surrounding teeth. 

At Just Implants, we only do dental implant surgery. So in order to get you a tooth, we work with our partner general dentists who are able to hold your hand through the process of building a tooth.