Dental Implants in Wilmington, DE
Here at Edward A. Weinstein, DDS, we offer our Wilmington, DE patients the latest in dental restorations and technologies, ensuring that they get the highest quality restorative dentistry they need and trust when faced with tooth loss. If you are missing one or more permanent teeth, dental implants provide a permanent solution.
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are a permanent and appealing solution to replace missing or extracted teeth. They are better than other alternatives like bridges because no additional teeth need to be altered to place the new tooth.
How do Dental Implants Work?
The bottom part of the implant, which looks like a screw, is placed in your jaw during a simple in-office procedure. The screw is made of titanium, a material that is biocompatible, meaning your body won’t reject it. In fact, over time your body will grow more bone to fuse with the dental implant. The implant screw becomes firmly embedded in your bone and won’t move.
What are the Benefits of Dental Implants?
- Dental implants look completely natural
- Dental implants are cleaned by simple brushing and flossing
- Dental implants won’t ever move around
- Dental implants can last throughout your lifetime
- Dental implants won’t ever decay and they resist stain
What Does The Installation of a Dental Implant Entail?
The entire implant process is performed over the course of a few months. The first part of the process is to install the implant itself, where a screw is placed into the jaw bone. An incision is made in the gum so that the implant can be inserted. Multiple implants can be placed at once if necessary. After the implants are placed the gums are sutured.
The implant must be allowed about 3-6 months to heal, and during this time the jaw bone will form around the implant in a process called osseointegration. During this healing time you can have temporary crowns installed so that you can eat and speak normally and maintain a proper aesthetic appearance for your smile.
After the implant has healed it is time to place an abutment on the implant. The abutment serves as the base for your new tooth. One this is placed an impression of the abutment is taken and is used to create your permanent restoration. Some offices have an onsite lab to create the crown, but others will have to send it to an outside lab. Once the restoration is completed you can return to the office to attach the restoration permanently. Your smile will look just like it used to, and after a short period of getting used to the implant it will feel just like one of your own teeth.
