Dental Implants
Tooth loss can immediately cause issues with your ability to eat and speak. Over time, it can jeopardize your overall oral health.
Fortunately, dental implants can replace teeth. Dr. Jon Marc Van Slate in Houston, TX, can restore your implants to complete your smile.
Why are dental implants considered the gold standard for tooth replacement?
Dental Implants Provide Unparalleled Oral Health Benefits
Long-Lasting
Dental implants are made of biocompatible titanium and can last 40 years, or even a lifetime, with proper maintenance. However, your crown, bridge, or denture, will need to be replaced about once a decade.
Prevent Jawbone Atrophy
Without tooth roots to stimulate the jawbone, the bone tissue begins to recede. This can lead to further tooth loss. Dental implants act as artificial tooth roots and can prevent jawbone atrophy.Improve Function & Confidence
Dental implants provide greater stability to restorations. As such, they prevent dentures from slipping out of place and allow you to feel more confident while eating, speaking, and smiling.
The Implant Procedure
Depending on your dental needs, Dr. Van Slate will recommend an oral surgeon that will surgically place your dental implants. Dr. Van Slate will work with oral surgeon to oversee and plan the placement of your dental implants. The placement of the implants is usually an outpatient procedure performed at the oral surgeon’s office with general anesthesia. The length and complexity of the procedure depends on the number of implant posts being placed. Most patients report little pain during or after the procedure.
The implant restoration has three basic parts: 1) The dental implant that the surgeon places into the jawbone, 2) the abutment that rests above the gum tissue and screws into the implant and 3) the crown that is cemented on the abutment that simulates the missing tooth. Completed healing time of the implant, called osseointegration, varies from two to six months.
