There are many reasons why a tooth may be lost, and there are an equal amount of reasons to choose getting a dental implant to replace it. Dental implant surgery may sound scary at first, but the procedure and process used to receive a dental implant is very simple, and the benefits these implants bring to your smile and jaw structure are numerous!
When a tooth is lost due to decay, injury, or extraction, the root that once held that portion of jaw both structure in place is now gone, and this absence can cause the bone surrounding the root to change shape and effect other teeth. What dental implant surgery does is creates an artificial root to fuse to the jaw bone structure to allow it to keep its shape as well as save the health of other nearby teeth.
Dental implant surgery is a process that usually is made up of 3 very important steps:
1. Burying the implant – The first step of the dental implant surgery process is burying the implant. The dental implant itself is a small post typically made of a titanium metal that is placed where the root of a tooth once was in the jaw bone structure. Under the gum and protected from impact due to chewing or biting, this implant is left to rest in this space until the bone surrounding the implant has fused to the material as it would fuse to a natural tooth root.
2. Attaching the abutment – After the implant has healed under the gum and fused to the jawbone area, an abutment will then be placed on top of the post to allow for a prosthetic tooth to be placed on the implant by way of a sturdy anchor. This abutment will sometimes be placed during the placement of the implant post itself, however this 2 step process ensures better healing.
3. Placing the tooth – After the implant and abutment have fully healed and integrated into the jaw bone, it is then time to place the tooth structure. This prosthetic tooth will perform and look just like a natural tooth, and it is anchored into the jaw by its synthetic root implant structure!
During each step of this process, a local anesthetic will most often be used to ensure the patient feels no pain during any part of the procedure. At Island Dental Associates, we perform dental implant surgeries to all types of Franklin Square Long Island residents to ensure their teeth remain healthy and sound after a loss or extraction. If you are in need of dental implant surgery, call us at Island Dental Associates today!
