There are many ways to replace missing teeth, preventing neighboring teeth from shifting and causing additional complications. However, there is only one tooth replacement procedure out there that replaces the entire tooth’s structure, not just the visible portion that appears in your smile. This includes the root, which is responsible for many important oral functions. At Fromuth & Langlois Dental of Manchester, we’re proud to offer dental implants in Manchester as a way to help our patients regain full and complete smiles. We’ll make sure that your next restoration, whether it’s an implant-supported crown, bridge, or denture, looks as good as it feels. Just call us today to get started!
A dental implant is a titanium post that is placed into your jawbone to act as a root for a lost tooth. A metal attachment, called an abutment, is fixed to the post to secure your custom-made restoration (crown, bridge, or denture) into place. This allows you to enjoy a close replica of your natural pearly whites in both appearance and function. Although you will need oral surgery, you’ll have a solution that looks and feels natural, improves your oral health, and can last for several decades with the right aftercare, like maintaining your oral hygiene.
Dental implants are fairly unique compared to other forms of tooth replacement. The process itself can take months, and the exact length of time can vary depending on the complexity of the procedure and your body’s ability to heal. It may take a while, but a beautiful, stable smile is waiting for you at the end of the treatment! There are four major steps that the process will generally follow: the initial consultation, the placement surgery, osseointegration, and restoration.
Dr. Fromuth will spend the first appointment going over your health history and examining your mouth. The goal of this visit is to determine whether or not dental implant surgery is a good option in your case; if we do decide that it’s the best choice available to replace your teeth, we can begin the process of planning the rest of the treatment. Preliminary procedures like bone grafting and gum disease therapy may need to be scheduled at this point. We’ll be sure to go over the entire timeline with you very carefully and discuss the costs associated with the process so that you aren’t caught off-guard moving forward.
This part of the treatment will be performed by one of the dental implant specialists that our practice has partnered with. Putting an expert in charge of the surgery tends to lead to the best possible results. Implant surgery is a minimally invasive process; a small incision is made in the gums so that the surgeon can make a hole in the jaw. Once the implant has been inserted into the hole, the gums will be closed up so that they can heal. A local anesthetic will be used so that you don’t feel anything during the procedure, and you’ll be given instructions for staying as comfortable as possible while recovering.
It takes around four to six months for dental implants to fuse with the jawbone through a process called osseointegration. (It may take more or less time depending on how many implants you received. Also, not everyone’s mouth heals at the same rate.) After a while, you’ll receive an abutment to be placed on top of the implants. The abutment is the part that holds the final restoration. You’ll need to wait about two to three weeks for the gums to heal after the abutment has been attached; afterwards, we can move on to the final step.
By the time of your final appointment, your mouth should have fully healed from previous procedures, meaning you’re ready for a permanent restoration. We design each restoration so that it blends in flawlessly with your other teeth and your gum tissue. After your new tooth is in place, we’ll give you a chance to get used to it and make sure that it feels comfortable. Then we can discuss the best strategies for taking care of an implant restoration.
What makes dental implants in Manchester such a highly recommended tooth replacement treatment among patients and professionals alike? With so many aesthetic and health benefits, we want our patients to be able to enjoy the latest restorative treatment that the dental world has to offer so you don’t miss out. To learn about what benefits dental implants can offer you, be sure to schedule a consultation today!
Dental implant posts are made from titanium, a highly biocompatible metal. Because of this, once they’re inserted into your jawbone, they are able to naturally fuse with it. This allows your implants to act like the natural roots of your teeth, providing the jawbone with stimulation and blood flow that keep it from deteriorating from not being used over time.
With the proper maintenance and daily care, your dental implants are able to last for over 35 years. That’s four times longer than the average lifespan of traditional tooth replacement options such as dentures. This is due to the fact that the implants are made from biocompatible titanium that is able to form a small oxide layer around them when they’re surgically placed. This layer prevents them from corroding or breaking down, allowing the implants to provide your restorations with long-lasting durability and strength.
Another great benefit of dental implants in Manchester is that they’re easy to care for. They’re one of the closest replacement solutions to your natural pearly whites, allowing you to take care of them in practically the same way. All you need to do to ensure the health of your implants is keep up with your daily oral hygiene routine, visit our office every six months for checkups and cleanings, protect
No matter how many teeth you’re missing, you may be able to restore your smile with dental implants. Most healthy adults are good candidates for this method of tooth replacement! Of course, you’ll still need to attend a consultation with our team at Fromuth & Langlois Dental of Manchester to ensure you can move forward with the process. We’ll determine how many implant posts you need and will create a custom treatment plan designed perfectly for your smile.
Good news – almost any healthy adult is a good candidate for dental implants in Manchester! It’s one of the many reasons they’ve become an incredibly popular solution for tooth loss. During your consultation, we’ll check for the following things as you must have them to qualify for dental implants:
Don’t meet the criteria above? That’s okay! You could still get dental implants by completing certain preliminary treatments (i.e., tooth extractions, gum disease therapy, bone grafting). Our team will help you schedule these procedures to get you on track toward a newly rebuilt smile!
If you’re only missing one tooth, a single implant and crown can replace it seamlessly. Over time, it’ll naturally fuse with the surrounding bone tissue to keep your restoration stable. As opposed to a dental bridge, this option does not require the removal of healthy enamel.
To replace multiple consecutive teeth, we can use a pair of dental implants to support an implant bridge. What’s different about this option is that it doesn’t rely on healthy teeth like a natural bridge does. If you have plenty of missing teeth throughout your mouth, we can place several implants to anchor a partial denture.
Are you missing all of your teeth? A series of dental implants can easily be placed throughout your mouth. Not only does it allow for a larger restoration to be attached (like a full denture), but it provides unmatched stability and durability.
While we would like to be able to give you a reliable estimate of the cost of dental implants right away, we can only give you useful numbers after examining your mouth. Everyone has different needs when it comes to replacing teeth, and some implant treatments have a higher cost than others as a result. But don’t worry; you’ll be given an estimate before being asked to commit to the treatment, and our team is here to help make sure your new teeth don’t break your budget.
Obviously, implant surgery has its own cost to consider, with the exact price depending on where the implant is being placed and whether sedation is required. However, if any preliminary treatments are needed, they’ll add to the overall cost of the process. Generally speaking, these preliminary treatments will be at least partially covered by dental insurance, and they will ultimately contribute to the long-term success of your new smile, making them well worth the extra money.
When paying for the dental implants themselves, the overall cost is affected by:
You might be tempted to try and save money by getting traditional dentures or bridges instead of implants. But what many people don’t realize is that dental implants end up paying for themselves over the years because they don’t have to replaced as often as traditional restorations, letting you save a considerable amount of time and money. You may also save money on oral health care since dental implants are easy to take care of, meaning you’re more likely to avoid gum disease and other potentially costly problems.
The typical dental insurance plan most likely won’t pay for the actual implants but will likely cover parts of the final restoration or some of the preliminary treatments. However, every insurance plan is different; we’ll review your benefits with you to confirm what kind of coverage you have and help you maximize it.
We work with all PPO dental insurance plans, and we work with third-part programs like CareCredit that allow our patients to break the cost of care into manageable monthly payments. You can also sign up for our in-house membership plan, which offers discounts on many of our treatments. We’ll go over your financial options in more detail at your first implant consultation.
Even if you want dental implants, you may not initially qualify for them. There’s a good chance your jaw lacks crucial qualities for treatment. However, this fact doesn’t make implants forever off-limits. You can always get advanced dental procedures to become an ideal implant candidate. Luckily, our practice happens to offer several such services. We’re even happy to tell you more about them! To that end, just keep reading or call us for the relevant details.
In truth, your jaw needs teeth to support itself. Pearly whites provide it with stimuli that maintain its bone tissue. As such, untreated tooth loss will cause your jawbone to erode. The jaw will then become too weak to support dental implants.
To learn whether your jaw has sufficient density, our team will examine it during the consultation. If it’s seen that your jawbone is too weak, our office may recommend bone grafting. This service would (ideally) help your jaw support implants.
You see, bone grafting is a great solution for weak jaws. This procedure (per the name) takes grafted tissue from a body part and adds it to your jaw, increasing the latter’s volume and density. The result is a jaw strong enough to support dental implants for years. (Do note, though, that this procedure and its recovery can take several months.)
An eroding upper jaw can make your sinuses move downward too much. When that happens, the sinus might poke your potential implants and cause treatment failure. All that said, you need good bone density in the upper jaw for successful implants.
Thankfully, a sinus lift can fix up your droopy sinus cavities. It “lifts” the latter by adding bone to the space between molars and premolars. With the cavities out of the way, you can proceed with your implant treatment. Of course, you’ll need to heal for 4-6 months first.
Rather than lacking density, sometimes the jaw isn’t wide enough for implants. Trying to place the posts in it may lead to dental overcrowding. In that case, you’d simply exchange one problem – tooth loss- for another.
Still, a narrow jaw can be fixed with a ridge expansion. This procedure widens the bone around tooth roots, creating more space for implants. It divides the ridge bone, wedging the inner and outer bone segments. This dividing process is usually done with special instruments.
To be clear, dental implants almost always succeed in the long run. Their success rate stands at 95% even ten years after placement! Still, there’s always a slight chance of implant failure from various factors – infections, trauma, and so on. If your restored smile feels uncomfortable or your implants worry you, please don’t hesitate to call our office. The odds are high that we can preserve your grin with a dental implant salvage treatment.
Learn More About Dental Implant Failure and Salvage
Once the implants have been placed, it will take time for your mouth to fully recover. You will be provided with dental implant post-op instructions in Manchester so that you can make a swift and simple recovery. You may have to follow some additional steps or take further precautions depending on your situation and the exact dental implant procedure you undergo, but generally speaking, you can expect the instructions you receive to touch on all of the following points.
You should plan on going home and resting for the remainder of the day. You should be able to return to your normal routine within 24 or 48 hours, but as for the period directly after the surgery, you should focus on managing your discomfort and protecting the surgical site. A blood clot will form around the area, and you need to make sure that it stays untouched so that your gums can heal successfully. Avoid behaviors like drinking from straws, smoking, swallowing saliva, and putting your fingers on the surgery site, as all of these can disturb the blood clot.
The initial discomfort that you experience after implant surgery will fade over time, and you can control it with prescribed or recommended pain relievers. Some gradual or intermittent bleeding may occur at first; use gauze to apply pressure to the area until the blood stops. Swelling may last for over a week, but it can be reduced by holding a cold compress to your cheek or jaw for 10-minute intervals. If at any point these symptoms appear to grow worse – or if they don’t go away after a certain amount of time has passed – call our office immediately.
You’ll need to eat soft foods for a few days while your mouth is healing. Good options include mashed potatoes, yogurt, ice cream, pudding, soup, scrambled eggs, and pasta; we can provide other suggestions if you need them. It shouldn’t be too long before you’re able to return to a normal diet; you can start eating more solid foods when you’re confident that you can handle them. However, you should still be careful to avoid chewing directly with the implant surgery site until you’ve received a restoration.
You need to keep your mouth as clean as possible so that an infection doesn’t occur before your mouth has fully healed. Continue to brush as you normally would (but be as gentle as possible around the surgery site). Rinse your mouth with salt water or a prescription mouth wash after each meal. Do not drink alcohol or use alcohol-based oral hygiene products.
Once a crown or another dental prosthetic has been attached to your implants, some minor sensitivity may occur, but it won’t be anything that you can’t handle with pain medication. However, bleeding or swelling should not occur at this point; if you notice such symptoms, call us immediately.
Dental implants may have an extremely high success rate and can last for a lifetime, but it all largely depends on how well you take care of them. If the implants become damaged, or if the tissue around them becomes infected, you might have to get a replacement. Fortunately, avoiding dental implant failure is actually relatively simple; you just need to adopt the right oral hygiene habits to protect the posts while keeping the rest of the mouth healthy.
You might think that since dental implants can’t get cavities that you don’t have to worry about cleaning them the same way you do your natural teeth. The truth is that bacteria can still build up on your implants, and that can lead to gum disease and other oral health issues if you aren’t proactive. As such, when you brush and floss your teeth each day (ideally once in the morning and once in the evening), make sure that you’re giving your implants the same attention that you give your natural teeth.
Dental implants let you eat whatever you want – which means that you have a responsibility to choose foods that are beneficial to your smile. Try not to eat too many hard or sticky foods that can potentially damage your implants. You should also stay away from sugar as much as possible. Instead, try eating more foods with plenty of calcium and vitamin C in order to maintain a strong jawbone and healthy gum tissue so that your implants stay safely anchored in place.
There are numerous bad habits that can cause dental implants to break or otherwise lead to failure. Once you receive your new teeth, you should:
Even though dental implants are made out of extremely durable titanium, they’re far from indestructible. Thus, you need to make sure that they’re well-protected (along with your other teeth) by wearing a personalized mouthguard whenever you play any kind of sport. If you have problems with grinding your teeth at night, you should get a nightguard to prevent the upper and lower arches from making direct contact with each other, thus drastically reducing wear and tear.
Continue to visit us every 6 months for regular checkups and cleanings. We can monitor your mouth and check for early warning signs of gum disease and potential implant failure so that potential issues can be dealt with immediately. Virtually any oral health issues that can threaten the longevity of your implants will be easier to deal with if it’s caught as early as possible.
Dental implants are a preferred tooth replacement option thanks to their numerous benefits. However, they are quite an investment, so it pays to be well informed about the procedure. Here are the answers to some of the most popular questions we are asked about dental implants in Manchester. If you don’t see the information that you’re looking for below, don’t worry. Give us a call and our team would be happy to answer your questions and get you started with an initial consultation.
The lifespan of dental implants depends on the health and lifestyle choices of the patient. To ensure that your implants last, be sure that you brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash on a daily basis. Attend regular cleanings and checkups, and avoid chewing on anything particularly hard or sticky. With proper maintenance, dental implants can last upwards of 30 years. That’s several times longer than traditional bridges and dentures.
The jawbone doesn’t have very many nerve endings, and your mouth will be numbed with a local anesthetic before the procedure begins. You will also most likely be sedated, lowering your body’s ability to register pain. While the surgery shouldn’t hurt, your mouth may be sore for a few days afterwards. To manage discomfort, take recommended over-the-counter and prescribed pain relievers as directed. Cold compresses can also help. If discomfort worsens instead of improving after two or three days, give us a call!
Most patients only need to take one or two days off to get dental implants. If your job is physically demanding, you should probably take at least three or four days off, as heavy exercise can divert blood from the implant site and delay healing. However, every case is different, so we’ll be able to give you a more specific recommendation during your initial consultation.
If your diabetes is under control, your odds of dental implant success are generally comparable to those of nondiabetic patients. Uncontrolled diabetes can slow down the healing process and make it more difficult for your implants to integrate with your jawbone. If you’re interesting getting dental implants but are diabetic, talk to your endocrinologist or primary care doctor about getting your blood sugar levels under control beforehand.
A dental implant is designed to be a permanent method of replacing a lost tooth. Therefore, you can’t take it out on your own, but some implant dentures are removable. The process of rebuilding your smile involves surgically inserting a post into your jaw. Your bone will fuse to it through a process called osseointegration. As a result, only a dentist can remove it, such as in situations of failure.
Your age doesn’t determine your candidacy for dental implants. However, with age comes various health issues, like heart disease or diabetes. Your implant dentist in Manchester will learn more about your oral and general health to design a safe and effective strategy to rebuild your smile. It isn’t unusual for older patients to need a little prep-work before their placement surgery, like tooth extractions, gum disease treatment, or bone grafting. Although you may have a few more steps in your treatment plan, you can never be too old for dental implants. The only way to know if they are right for you is to schedule your consultation for a complete smile.
A dental implant is the most reliable method of treating tooth loss with over a 95% success rate. Besides the qualifications of your implant dentist, various factors will affect the success of your new smile, like your commitment to your oral health. A solid oral hygiene routine at home and regular care from your dentist will safeguard your investment. It’s also best to avoid unnecessary wear and tear, like eating chewy/hard foods or clenching your teeth at night. With the right maintenance, your dental implant can thrive for 30 years or longer.
The risk of dental implant failure is less than 5%, but you will want to watch for any signs of complications, like redness, swelling, or infection near the post. An infection called peri-implantitis is a common cause of failure. Don’t ignore any symptoms because they can lead to dental implant failure. Instead, it is best to contact our office right away. Your dentist will find the source of the problem to address it before it turns into a bigger issue. You can keep complications at bay by practicing good oral hygiene and avoiding anything that may damage your dental implants, like chewing on inedible objects or grinding your teeth.
After your bone has integrated with the post, your dental implant should never feel unstable. If you notice it’s loose, contact our office immediately. It can be a sign of a serious problem. We will get you into the office quickly to pinpoint the issue. Although every situation differs, it may just be a loose restoration, while other cases may be the result of bone loss or infection.