Achieve Unparalleled Support for Your Restoration with Dental Implants
Replacing the natural presentation and utility of a lost tooth (or teeth) is a difficult job and, while nothing man-made can 100% substitute for one’s real tooth, a dental implant is the nearest available answer from modern dental practices. Dental implants, available at our Slidell practice, are a remarkable and versatile part of modern dental treatment plans. They can be used to replace one tooth, multiple teeth or all of your teeth – top and/or bottom. They can be utilized as a solid base to porcelain crowns, porcelain bridges or non-slip dentures.
Who Can Benefit From Dental Implants?
People With Loose Dentures Or Partials
Seniors, or often middle-aged adults, who have lost all of their teeth and who have dentures and have difficulty chewing, arrive at Oak Harbor Family Dentistry seeking help. These people haven’t been able to eat some of their favorite foods for years.
But then, by using two or three implants underneath the denture that solidly secure the dentures, it’s as if you give them all of their own natural teeth back again. Dental implants are stable, look like real teeth and are very strong. Those who get dental implants are able to smile, laugh and eat without fearing that their dentures may slip or click or that their bridge will trap food.
Athletes Both Young And Old
It isn’t odd that a young person experiences an accident or sports injury and end up with a gap in their smile. Of course, the dentist will tell you to search for the tooth, push it back into the empty socket, and quickly head for the dentist’s office. Sadly enough, the logic doesn’t stand a chance against the emotion of the game.
With modern dentistry, instead of putting in a bridge that may need to be replaced in a few years, we can place a dental implant that could last from twenty years to as long as their entire lifetime.
Teens (And Sometimes Young Adults) Who Are Missing Their Eye Teeth (Canines)
Every now and then, Dr. Appleton sees a boy or girl who’s permanent smile came in without their eye teeth. To Dr. Appleton, it’s a dental problem, but to our patient who is most likely moving into high school or maybe graduating high school, it’s first and foremost a social brick wall.
Not so long ago, orthodontists simply moved the teeth together creating a mismatched bite and the potential for chronic headaches and nighttime grinding of the teeth. In modern dentistry, we can open up the spaces even further and then place implants so that young person’s smile not only looks completely normal, the teeth function and mesh together as if there were never anything wrong.
Of course, generally, Oak Harbor Family Dentistry will not place implants into a young adult’s mouth until their teeth have completely matured.
Am I A Candidate For Implantation Dentistry?
If you are in good health, both in your mouth and in your body, you are probably a good candidate. You should also have healthy gum tissues that are free of periodontal disease. You’ll need strong bones to securely anchor the dental implants. To find out if you do, Dr. Appleton will evaluate the bone quantity and the density of that bone. It should be noted that, in a few cases where bone loss has occurred due to periodontal disease, implants may not be possible right away. If you are deficient in bone density and/or quantity in your jaw, this can often be corrected with a graft of bone or through the use of artificial bone to provide the right support for the implant.
There are a few red flags that might block you from getting dental implants, while other situations might cause a short delay in getting your implants until they have been fixed. Here is a checklist:
- Diabetes that is not stabilized
- Chemotherapy
- Currently receiving radiation
- Parathyroid disorders
- Some, but not all, blood diseases or conditions
- Bone disorders
- Cancer of the bone marrow
- Enlarged sinus cavity or cavities
- Osteoporosis
If you think that implants might be a solution to your problem, get the expert advice of Dr. Appleton to find out if you’re a good candidate for a dental implant. You should definitely ask about Dr. Appleton’s thorough training and experience in the case of dental implants. Dental implant placement is actually oral surgery and it is important to be certain that Dr. Appleton makes you feel comfortable with his experience and training for this type of procedure. Dr. Appleton has been placing dental implants in Slidell for over ten years.
