Dental Implants Simpsonville
Replacing Every Part of Your Lost Tooth
Replacing even a single lost tooth is essential to ensure patients can maintain their healthiest smiles. If a lost tooth is not replaced, the effects may include several oral health concerns such as dental drift, jawbone deterioration, and gum tissue degeneration. Traditional tooth replacement solutions like crowns and bridges and removable dentures only replace those parts of the teeth above the gumlines. Dental implants in Simpsonville, SC, are unique because they offer a replacement option that restores lost root structures and does not require alterations of adjacent teeth to support a bridge. If you’re interested in finding out more about dental implants in Simpsonville, SC, we invite you to contact our team to schedule a tooth replacement consultation today.
Why Choose Tylan Creek Family Dentistry for Dental Implants?
- Rebuild Any Number of Missing Teeth for Life
- Entire Dental Implant Treatment Completed Under One Roof
- Financing & In-Office Savings Plan Make Dental Implants Affordable
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are small, screw-shaped titanium posts that can be inserted into the jawbone where a missing tooth once was. Since they’re made of biocompatible materials like titanium, they fuse with the bone tissue in the jaw to essentially replace the missing root structure. Once your jawbone has healed, one or more implants can be topped with a crown, bridge, or denture to replace any number of missing teeth. This is what sets them apart from traditional tooth replacement options! Dental bridges and dentures only replace the portion of missing teeth above the gumline, which leaves them far less stable and comfortable than natural teeth. A dental implant mimics the entire structure of a missing tooth, giving you a smile that looks, feels, and functions just like natural.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
Receiving dental implants is a multi-phase process. Many dental offices refer patients to outside specialists for the surgical stage of treatment after the initial consultation. However, we’re happy to provide every step of your dental implant treatment right here in our comfortable dental office. While every patient’s journey toward a complete smile will be slightly different, here’s what you can typically expect during your dental implant process.
You’ll first need an initial consultation to ensure you’re a candidate for dental implants. Depending on the results of the examination, you might need additional treatments like tooth extractions or bone grafting before undergoing your placement surgery. After you’ve healed from any previous treatments, we can move forward with the implant procedure.
Sedation or anesthesia is used to ensure your comfort, as your gum tissue is opened to gain access to your jawbone. Small holes are made in pre-determined locations in your jaw, and the implant posts are placed into them. Your gum tissue is sutured closed, and you’ll spend the next several weeks healing.
After your jaw has fused to the posts through a process called osseointegration, you’ll need a second minor surgery to attach special fixtures to the posts, called abutments. It will take about 2 weeks to heal from this procedure. While you’re recovering, the dental lab is hard at work creating your custom crown, bridge, or denture to meet your exact specifications. When it’s ready, you’ll return to our office to have it secured to the abutments on your dental implants.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Right now, more than five million Americans have replaced one or more teeth with dental implants, and about half a million more receive them each year. Once you learn about the unique benefits that dental implants provide, it’s not hard to see why they’ve become so popular. After all, they offer advantages that traditional options just can’t deliver, such as greater stability, enhanced chewing power, and the potential to last for decades. Below are just a few of the benefits of dental implants you should consider when deciding how to replace your missing teeth.
Day-to-Day Benefits
- Confidence– Because dental implants fuse to the jawbone, they essentially become the new roots of your teeth. They keep your custom restorations firmly in place, avoiding the slippage that often comes with poorly fitting dentures. Plus, your restorations are made to seamlessly resemble the teeth you used to have. You’ll be able to smile without anyone even being able to tell that you lost any teeth!
- Clear speech– A major downside of dentures is their tendency to make you mumble, slur your words, or produce clicking or whistling sounds when you try to talk. Dental implants are secure enough to not hinder your speech in any way.
- Improved diet– By bringing back the missing root structure, dental implants also restore most of the chewing force you used to have. Unlike dentures, you should have no difficulty tearing into tough steaks, crunchy vegetables, and all of your favorite foods.
Health Benefits
- Easy maintenance– To keep your implants in great condition, all you need to do is brush and floss daily and visit our dental office for routine checkups. No special cleaning solutions are required!
- Improved oral health– Placing a dental bridge is actually considered more invasive than placing an implant. A bridge requires the two adjacent teeth to be permanently filed down, making them more sensitive to decay. By filling the gap with a dental implant, you get to preserve more of your natural tooth structure.
- Prevention of bone loss– Dental implants are the only tooth replacement that stimulates the jawbone every time you bite or chew, just like real tooth roots do. Therefore, they prevent the jawbone deterioration that typically accompanies tooth loss.
Long-Term Benefits
- High success rate– Studies show that about 95% of dental implant patients still enjoy their teeth to the fullest, even after more than a decade.
- Long lifespan– The average dental implant lasts about 30 years. As long as you take good care of it, your implant may even last for the rest of your life!
- Saved money and time– Dentures and bridges require you to purchase additional cleaning products and adhesives. Not to mention, they need to be replaced every five to ten years at most. Over time, these solutions compound their initial lower cost. Although dental implants cost more upfront, they should be a one-time payment that can save you a great deal of money and time in the long run.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Possibly the most versatile tooth replacement solution available, dental implants can support any number of replacement teeth from a single crown to a full arch denture. Implant-supported tooth replacement solutions from Tylan Creek Family Dentistry may include:
Missing 1 Tooth
One dental crown is connected to a single dental implant post, which is used to replace an individual tooth.
Missing Multiple Teeth
When two consecutive teeth are missing, two dental crowns are connected and attached to one dental implant. If three or more consecutive teeth are missing, a series of dental crowns known as a fixed bridge is supported by two dental implant posts, one at each end. In most cases of more extensive tooth loss, a dental implant-supported partial denture will be recommended and attached to an adequate number of implant posts to support the partial while minimizing surgical impact.
Missing All Teeth
A full set of dentures can be anchored firmly in place with four, six, or eight dental implant posts depending on the patient’s specific needs and oral health condition.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
If you’re like most people, before deciding on tooth replacement, you probably want to know about the cost first. While there are estimates that you may be able to find through your own research, these prices don’t account for the many variables that can affect your implant treatment. We will carefully examine your mouth to check the condition of your oral health, how many teeth you’re missing, where these gaps are located inside your mouth, and the health of your jawbone to determine the cost of your dental implants in Simpsonville, SC. Until you can come in to see us, keep these factors in mind when estimating the cost of your dental implants.
Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery
No variable will influence the cost of your dental implants more than the number of teeth that you’re missing. At Tylan Creek Family Dentistry, we use dental implants in Simpsonville, SC, to replace one tooth, multiple teeth, or even a whole row of your smile, which will directly affect your cost. As you may have guessed, the more teeth that you’re missing, the more implants and restorations that you need. This increases the cost of your dental implants mostly because of the materials required.
Additionally, if you require preparatory treatments to receive dental implants, such as tooth extractions or gum disease therapy, your costs will increase. Because we keep our entire replacement process in-house, you can expect your fees to be more compact and easier to understand compared to seeing an oral surgeon offsite.
The Parts of Your Dental Implant
Along with the number of implants you need, the parts that make up the implant also carry their own distinct cost. This includes the abutment, which is often an essential component for holding the permanent restoration. Much like cars or other customizable goods, dental implants can vary in cost depending on their make and manufacturer. We’re happy to break down where we get our implants and why we use them during your consultation.
Final Dental Implant Restoration
Replacing single teeth only requires a dedicated implant crown to restore. However, the more teeth you intend to replace, the more complex your restoration will be (and the higher your costs will become). For example, replacing multiple consecutive teeth requires an implant bridge, which needs more material to create and more time and labor to design. The same logic applies to full or partial dentures intended to attach to a series of dental implants.
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
Unfortunately, most dental insurance plans don’t cover dental implants. However, they may cover certain aspects of the process like sedation or your restoration itself. At Tylan Creek Family Dentistry, we do our absolute best to provide quality and affordable dentistry, which is why our team files insurance for you to maximize your benefits. We’re happy to review the details of your plan and confirm how much coverage you can expect ahead of time.
Making Dental Implants Affordable
We also have financing options available for those without dental insurance. This includes CareCredit, a third-party financing option that allows you to pay for treatments over a longer period of time in monthly installments. In many cases, you can even expect low to no interest on these payments, making it even easier to fit into your budget. Alternatively, you can sign up for our in-house dental savings plan to get additional discounts on other services, thus allowing you to put more funds toward your tooth replacement.
Maintaining & Caring For Your Dental Implants
Now that you have your dental implants, do you know how to properly care for them? While you might assume they are to be treated just like your natural teeth, you’re not wrong; however, you will need to put in the work to avoid potential decay and damage to your smile. Proper dental implant care in Simpsonville is imperative to maintaining a healthy, beautiful, and longer-lasting smile. Your permanent prosthetics may be unable to decay but keeping them free of damage is just as important as minimizing the risk of decay to your natural teeth and gum disease to your smile as a whole. Below, you will find some tips that will help you jumpstart your maintenance routine. If you have questions, feel free to call our office.
Making Oral Hygiene a Priority
No matter the reason for your dental implants in the first place, it’s imperative that you stick to a good oral hygiene routine once your permanent prosthetics are in place. Dental implants are designed to last decades or longer, which is why you will need to commit to brushing twice a day for two minutes, flossing at least once a day, and rinsing regularly with an antimicrobial mouthwash. This will keep decay and gum disease from developing inside your mouth, thus ensuring your dental implants are not negatively affected.
Eating a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet will not only allow for better health and wellness, but it will also positively impact your smile. Certain foods, vitamins, and nutrients can promote good gum health and strengthen tooth enamel. Cheese, fruits, nuts, vegetables, lean proteins, and leafy greens will have you feeling much better inside and out. Just remember, a cookie, a few potato chips, or a slice of cake won’t result in implant failure, but if you begin to consume them too often, you could be facing many problems that will leave you spending more time and money trying to fix them.
Breaking Bad Habits
Do you enjoy eating ice? Do you smoke? Are you prone to chewing on pens and pencils? Do you use your teeth to open packages or containers? If you answered “yes” to any of these, you’ll need to be diligent about breaking these habits if you want to keep your dental implants in place. The additional pressure placed on your teeth when practicing many of these habits will only lead to a dental emergency that requires immediate treatment from an implant dentist in Simpsonville. If you smoke, you run the risk of your implants never properly fusing or healing, resulting in dental implant failure.
Protecting our Dental Implants
A customized mouthguard can be one of the best investments you make after receiving dental implants in Simpsonville. This is especially true if you are prone to grinding your teeth (bruxism) or if you enjoy playing sports. No matter the activity, if you are at risk of accidentally damaging your regular teeth and dental implants, you will not want to take any chances. Instead, asking our team about receiving a mouthguard will ensure that you safeguard your smile from any potential harm.
Scheduling Regular Dental Checkups
Seeing our team regularly will be one of the most effective ways to keep your dental implants in good condition. While there are plenty of things you can do at home to protect your prosthetics, it often takes a professional to closely examine your smile and make sure there are no minor chips or damage to your new teeth. Our team will also check for any signs of gum disease or tooth decay that might negatively impact your implants as well as provide helpful tips and recommendations for better at-home oral hygiene care.
Dental Implant FAQs
Are Dental Implants Safe?
According to clinical research and experimentation, the answer is a resounding yes! In fact, dental implants hold an impressive 95% success rate. To provide patients with the highest likelihood of success, we conduct a thorough dental exam beforehand to ensure many qualifications are met, including sufficient bone density and healthy gums. If for any reason you are unable to meet these requirements, then we will suggest treatment beforehand, like a bone graft or periodontal therapy. That way, you can safely get the dental care you need and rebuild your smile.
How Long Do Dental Implants Last?
Dental implants are designed to be a long-term solution for patients missing one or more teeth. But how long do they last exactly? With proper care, they can last 30+ years! In fact, most patients can expect to enjoy them for a lifetime. However, to prolong their lifespan, it is of the utmost importance that you view them as an investment and continue to take care of them throughout the years. In addition to brushing your teeth and dental implants twice a day, always floss and use mouthwash regularly. Plus, routine visits with your dentist for checkups will ensure they are in pristine condition and that any red flags are addressed in the early stages.
Does Dental Implant Surgery Hurt?
When it comes to dental work, one of the most common questions is, “Will it hurt?” After all, one of the most popular reasons patients avoid the treatment chair is fear of pain. If this sounds all too familiar, you’ll be happy to know that our team does everything in our power to make the experience as pain-free as possible from start to finish! In addition to using a local anesthetic before the procedure, we will also provide you with aftercare instructions to keep you comfortable while you are healing. That way, you can just focus on recovering!
Do Dental Implants Look Natural?
Decades prior, tooth replacement options were obtrusive and obvious. Therefore, it’s not surprising that patients wonder whether their new smile will be seamless or if everyone will be able to tell they underwent dental work. Fortunately, the dental implants we use are crafted from the highest quality material and custom-made to match the size, shape, and color of your other teeth. So, your new smile will be functional and flawless.