Dental Implants New Baltimore
The New Standard for Replacing Lost Teeth for Life
Dental implants are often thought of as the “gold standard” of tooth replacement, since they are technically the closest possible solution to your natural teeth. In fact, patients with dental implants are hardly even able to tell the difference between their new teeth and their original ones! Better yet, our team is capable of completing the entire dental implant process here in our office! To learn more about this exciting solution or to schedule a consultation to see if you’re a good candidate for dental implants in New Baltimore, feel free to contact our office.
Why Choose Great Lakes Dental Excellence for Dental Implants?
- Full Dental Implant Service Under One Roof
- All-on-4 Restorations Available
- Insurance-Friendly & Financing Options
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants refer to small, titanium posts that are surgically placed beneath a patient’s gum line, directly into their jawbone. These implant posts can actually fuse with the surrounding bone tissue since they’re biocompatible, forming a solid bond that allows them to function as replacement tooth roots – which is a feature that is entirely unique to dental implants. Once this fusion has occurred, a custom-made dental restoration can be attached to grant the patient a new set of beautiful, functional teeth.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Along with being one of the most reliable treatments in dentistry, dental implants are also one of the most versatile. No matter how many teeth you’re missing—whether it’s one, a few, or all of them—there's likely a dental implant solution that’s right for you. But how do you know if you’re a good candidate? Read more below to learn more about the qualities we consider and see how our dental implant dentist in New Baltimore can help you smile your best.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?
Almost anyone has the potential to be a candidate for dental implants. However, the treatment relies on good oral health, adequate jawbone density, and well-managed overall health for success.
Implants require minor surgery for placement, so issues like gum disease, unmanaged diabetes, or other conditions that can complicate healing can be a hindrance. The same can also be said for low bone density, which can cause the implant fixture to fail.
Even if you’re not a good candidate initially, there’s no need to worry. Our expert dental team can prepare you for the road ahead by treating underlying dental problems and performing procedures like bone grafts to strengthen your smile.
Missing One Tooth
Replacing one missing tooth with a dental implant is a highly effective option, both in terms of aesthetics and longevity. This process places a single titanium fixture into your jawbone to replace the root of your tooth. Then, a custom-made crown is attached to complete the restoration, allowing you to eat, speak, and smile with confidence.
A single dental implant is a more conservative treatment than a traditional dental bridge, which relies on healthy adjacent teeth for stability. If you need a strong, long-lasting replacement for a gap in your smile, a single dental implant is a fantastic way to get there.
Missing Multiple Teeth
While traditional dental bridges are attached to healthy teeth that are reshaped and capped with crowns, implant bridges are anchored directly into your jawbone with titanium posts.
This approach prevents unnecessary wear on neighboring teeth while giving your replacement teeth incredible stability. Depending on your needs, two or more dental implants can support a bridge or partial denture to restore several missing teeth in a row.
The result is a restoration that looks, feels, and functions just like your original teeth. If you want dependable, long-term results, implant bridges from our New Baltimore dental practice are an outstanding choice.
Missing All Teeth
If you’ve lost all of your natural teeth, dental implants could completely transform your life. Instead of relying on traditional dentures that suction to your gums, implant dentures use four to eight strategically placed implants to secure a full arch of prosthetic teeth.
Depending on your goals, these can be fixed in place or designed to snap on and off for easy cleaning. Implant dentures not only restore your smile’s appearance but also prevent bone loss in your jaw, preserving your facial shape and helping you appear younger longer.
With dental implants in New Baltimore, you can once again enjoy living life to its fullest every day.
The 5-Step Dental Implant Process
- Initial Dental Implant Consultation – The first step to getting dental implants is attending a consultation at our office. We’ll assess your tooth loss, review your medical history, and determine if you need any preliminary procedures before you can receive your implants.
- After we have all of your digital diagnostics records, we plan exactly where your implant needs to be placed according to your anatomy, the amount of space needed for the implant, and how much bone is at the surgery site. We virtually place the implant and fabricate a 3D printed surgical guide to ensure your implant is placed right where it should go.
- Dental Implant Surgery – Since we can complete the entire dental implant process in-house, you won’t have to worry about coordinating with other teams or offices. The procedure itself is fairly straightforward; the posts are carefully placed at precise angles using our computer aided 3D printed surgical guides, and it takes about an hour to place each post.
- Dental Implant Osseointegration/Abutment – Following the surgery, your mouth will need several months to heal so that the posts can successfully fuse with your jaw. Once this has occurred, a second, smaller procedure can be performed to place your abutments, which are metal connector pieces that house your future restoration(s).
- Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s) – A few weeks after your abutments have been placed, you’ll return to receive your custom-made restoration. Designed specifically for your smile, these restorations can replace any number of missing teeth, regardless of where they’re located.
Benefits of Dental Implants
More than half a million dental implants are placed every year, and it’s easy to see why these amazing prosthetic appliances are so popular if you understand the fantastic benefits they can provide. Because of the specialized process by which they are surgically inserted into the jawbone, the lifelike restorations mounted upon implants can look, function, and feel just like real teeth. Here’s a quick look at how dental implants from Great Lakes Dental Excellence may be able to improve your health and daily life for decades.
Day-to-Day Benefits
Dental implants can enhance your day-to-day life in ways like:
- Giving you a beautiful and complete smile you’ll be proud to show off.
- Allowing you to chew anything you could with real teeth, which means you’ll be able to enjoy all sorts of tasty foods with interesting textures like fresh meat, raw fruits and veggies, and crunchy nuts and seeds.
- Requiring only the same oral hygiene routine as real teeth, which means you won’t have to worry about the elaborate cleaning rituals required by traditional dentures and bridges.
- Helping you speak and eat with confidence since they are firmly anchored in the jawbone, which will prevent them from ever sliding out of place.
Health Benefits
Dental implants can also help you stay in good health by:
- Expanding your diet so you can enjoy the diverse range of nutritious foods the human body needs to stay healthy and strong.
- Making it easy to prevent oral infections with a simple daily dental hygiene regimen that includes brushing, flossing, and rinsing with antibacterial mouthwash.
- Holding their positions in the mouth at all times, which prevents uncomfortable oral sores that can result from friction caused by an appliance sliding about on the gums.
- Stimulating the jawbone to prevent it from atrophying after tooth loss.
Long-Term Benefits
Dental implants are a long-term investment that can pay significant dividends over time. A few impressive advantages these devices provide include:
- An incredible success rate of over 95% even ten years after being placed.
- Lasting for decades or even a lifetime if they receive excellent care.
- Negating the need for frequent and costly replacements that would be required by traditional dentures and bridges, which can save a patient vast sums of money over the years.
- Maintaining the shape of your mouth so you can present a youthful profile.
- Helping you present a smile you can be proud of, which can make it easier to stand out from the competition when being considered for a new job or a promotion.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
When it comes to restoring your smile, you truly do get what you pay for. With dental implants, you’re not just replacing teeth, you’re making a long-term investment in your health, confidence, and quality of life. Because dental implants are a highly customizable treatment, prices can vary dramatically from patient to patient, depending on your individual needs.
At Great Lakes Dental Excellence, we want you to feel confident in your choice, so you’ll always know an estimated cost of your treatment prior to any work beginning. Our team strives to do its best to make your care as affordable as possible by maximizing insurance benefits and accepting flexible financing through our preferred lenders.
While dental implants may be a more expensive option than other restorations, most patients find that their benefits are well worth the investment. Dental implants are likely to last you a lifetime, which means they could easily be the most cost-effective solution in the long run!
Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery
Should you require any preliminary treatments such as gum disease therapy, tooth extractions, or bone grafting, these will add to the overall cost of your dental implant treatment. While they do increase the cost, they are absolutely vital for maximizing the success of your new smile. Thankfully, they may be partially covered by your dental insurance.
Dental implant surgery incurs its own cost and can vary depending on where the implants are placed in the jaw and what kind of anesthesia and/or sedation you may need.
The great news is that because we conveniently provide your entire dental implant treatment under one roof, you won’t have to worry about working with an outside surgeon or paying a second party separately for your surgery.
The Parts of Your Dental Implant
The parts of your dental implant will also affect the cost, as each piece is separate, and are available in a variety of materials and sizes to fit your needs:
- Number of dental implants needed: One dental implant to replace one missing tooth will cost less than four to six dental implants for an implant denture; however, one implant denture will be more cost effective than replacing each tooth separately.
- Type of restoration needed: Dental crowns, bridges, and dentures each cost different amounts. The smaller the prosthetic, the less expensive it will be.
- Size or material of the dental implant: Some dental implants are made longer or shorter depending on where they’ll need to be placed within the jawbone; some are made of zirconia instead of titanium.
- Brand of dental implant: Much like cars and smartphones, there are different manufacturers for dental implants, too. This is to cater to the unique needs of certain patients. Feel free to ask your dentist more about where your dental implant is manufactured and if there are any brand-specific benefits.
How Dental Implants Can Save You Money
When it comes to restoring their smile, many patients choose dentures or dental bridges because of their lower initial price. However, the one-time cost of dental implants could be the more cost-effective solution in the long run. Consider this: you won’t need to pay for replacements or adjustments every five to ten years like you would with dental bridges or dentures, nor will you need to spend money on special pastes, cleaning solutions, or adhesives to care for them.
Furthermore, because your dental implants won’t wear down your natural teeth or irritate your gums, they’re easier to keep clean, and will help you prevent issues like gum disease, tooth decay, and jawbone deterioration and their associated costs. In fact, studies have shown that having good oral health will help lower your risk of systemic issues and the costs of addressing them.
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
While dental insurance doesn’t typically cover dental implants, there are sometimes exceptions. Our team will gladly review the details of your plan, as we have years of experience maximizing benefits. It is possible that portions of your treatment may be covered, such as a percentage of your final restoration or preliminary treatments.
Making Dental Implants Affordable
At Great Lakes Dental Excellence, we are pleased to accept financing for dental implants through our preferred third-party lenders, CareCredit and Sunbit. These programs can break your total treatment cost into flexible, low-to-no interest monthly payments that may be better suited to your budget. To learn more about these plans, please visit our website or call our office for more information.
Dental Implant FAQs
How Long Do Dental Implants Last?
The lifespan of dental implants typically depends on the lifestyle choices of the patient. To ensure that dental implants last, it’s important to brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash daily. Attend dental cleanings and checkups, and avoid chewing on things that are particularly hard or sticky. Smoking has also been linked with an increased risk of dental implant failure, so this is something to avoid – especially directly after your dental implant surgery. When cared for properly, dental implants can last upwards of 30 years! This is much longer than you can expect with dentures or dental bridges.
Does Getting Dental Implants Hurt?
Your mouth will be numbed with a local anesthetic before your procedure begins. There are also sedation options available to help lower your body’s ability to register pain. Additionally, the jawbone doesn’t have very many nerve endings. Ultimately, you shouldn’t feel any pain during the surgery. You may experience some soreness for a few days afterward, but this can be managed with over-the-counter and prescribed pain relievers. If discomfort worsens instead of improving after a few days, give us a call so we can help.
Are Dental Implants Safe?
The majority of patients who have adequate oral health have successful dental implant experiences. If you have low jawbone density or gum disease, they can often be addressed with preliminary procedures, like bone grafting and gum disease treatment. If you have diabetes, cancer, or another medical condition that could make surgery or healing risky, we will discuss this during your consultation so we can proceed safely.
Am I Too Old to Get Dental Implants?
There isn’t an upper age limit for dental implants after you have become an adult. Assuming that you are in decent oral health and have sufficient jawbone density, it doesn’t matter how older you are. You could be in your 20s, 30s, 60s, or even your 80s. However, seniors are more likely to have health issues that complicate dental implant treatment. During your consultation with us, we will examine your smile to determine whether dental implants are the right option for you.
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