Over the past two decades, dental implants have quickly become the most popular method for replacing missing teeth, and they are universally loved by dentists and patients around the world. Why? Because compared to every other option, they most closely resemble real teeth, both when it comes to appearance and strength. At Carlson Dental Group, we’re able to provide comprehensive dental implants in Jacksonville, FL to help our patients rebuild their smiles for life. If you’re ready to close annoying gaps or finally get a denture you can trust to stay in place, contact us today.
Before we place dental implants into a patient’s mouth, we start the process by putting together an extremely precise treatment plan. To do this, we create a highly-detailed 3D X-ray of a patient’s teeth and mouth using our CBCT scanner. This kind of image reveals much more detail about a patient’s dental anatomy than a regular X-ray, allowing us to provide better care and guarantee a short recovery.
Each of your teeth has two basic parts: the crown you can see, and the root that holds it firmly within the jawbone below the gum line. Restorations like bridges and dentures only bring back the crown, but dental implants provide the only way to replace the root as well. A small titanium post is positioned within the jawbone, and this serves as the foundation for a new crown, bridge, or denture.
Because dental implants are held within the jawbone just like real teeth, you can rely on them like real teeth as well. They will never slip and slide while you’re eating or speaking. They’re also strong enough that you’ll be able to chew many foods that are considered “off-limits” for denture wearers, such as grilled meats and fibrous vegetables. And, with minimal maintenance, implants are extremely durable. They last for an average of 30 years, but many have been shown to endure for the rest of a patient’s life.
If you are missing any number of teeth and have decent oral and overall health, then dental implants are definitely an option you should be considering. Our team can customize your treatment in the following ways based on your unique needs:
Rather than placing a bridge that requires multiple teeth to be shaved down and reshaped, we can simply use a single implant to support a porcelain crown. This crown won’t rely on the neighboring teeth to stay in place, giving it a more natural look and comfortable fit compared to a traditional restoration.
One or two implants can be used to anchor a bridge or partial denture to the jawbone to replace multiple teeth at the same time. This approach is not only much more cost-effective versus using an implant for each tooth, but these prosthetics are also more stable compared to their removable counterparts.
Even someone who has experienced total tooth loss can benefit from implant dentistry. A full denture can be attached to the jawbone using just four to six implants. In addition to being smaller and fitting better compared to removable dentures, implant dentures also bring back more of a person’s bite strength, enabling them to eat whatever they like with complete confidence.
At many other dental offices in Jacksonville, if you want to get dental implants, the dentist will send you to a specialist to have the posts surgically placed into the jawbone. This adds time and expense to the process, but you can avoid the hassle just by visiting us! Our team has the training and technology to complete every phase of the implant treatment in our Riverside dental office. From your first consultation all the way until you have your new smile, you’ll be able to work with the same dentist and team to make your journey as smooth as possible.
Because dental implants can be used in so many different ways to address varying degrees of tooth loss, the cost of treatment is always different from patient to patient. Even though they tend to be more expensive upfront compared to regular bridges and dentures, they turn out to be the best investment thanks to their longevity. Over time, getting implants actually costs less than other restorations because implants don’t have to be replaced nearly as often.
At the beginning of the implant process, you’ll visit our office so that we can determine how many teeth are missing and evaluate your overall oral health. Once we’re sure that your jaw can safely support the posts, we’ll schedule the surgery that will place the implants in the bone. Over the next several months, the biocompatible titanium post will gradually join with the surrounding bone tissue. Once it has been fully integrated, it will have the stability to support a restoration such as a crown.