The Lowdown on Dental Implants
Dental implants are a very effective way to replace missing or damaged teeth; however, implants can be expensive and take a long time.
Dental Implant Costs
Starting at around $1000 dollars for a single tooth, dental implants can be a good investment if bad teeth will mean a lifelong round of treatment, bridges or dentures. Failure rates are extremely low and usually only occur if there was undetected bacterial infection at the time of implant.
How Long is the Healing Process
The time it takes to complete a dental implant varies according to the reason for the implant and state of the jawbone. Bone grafting may be required to start with in order to increase the amount of bone available to place the implant into, which must heal before the implant surgery.
A titanium post is screwed into the jawbone, which must be left for 3-6 months for the bones to fuse around it before the tooth part is added – a process called osseointegration. Or, if the bone quality is not sufficient, a plate style implant may be used between the gum and the jawbone, which requires CAT scans or a cast to be made of the bone before the implant can be produced.
After this healing process is complete, a cast is made of the mouth and a ceramic tooth crafted according to the shape and color of the existing teeth.
A newer form of dental implants are becoming available, which may be used in cases where the implant is replacing a tooth in good bone and healthy gums. An extraction of a broken or decayed tooth can be followed by implanting a whole tooth including temporary crown. The healing process may still take several months and great care must be taken during this period while the bones fuse around the implant. Once they have, a permanent crown can be made to finish the implant.
Your dentist can advise whether dental implants are for you, and may also be able to offer a finance plan to spread the cost of treatment, since insurance plans will not usually help. You will probably only be able to get insurance assistance if the dental implants are being considered to fix dental damage resulting from an accident, and not under all plans.
Doctor Shannon will give you a honest evaluation and the professional guidance you can count on.
