Dental implants have been around for over 20 years as an option to restore a missing tooth, and the dental implant techniques and technology keep advancing. Today, a dental implant can be used to anchor a dental bridge or provide posts to secure formerly removable dentures to your smile. If you are interested in receiving dental implants, we would love to tell you more about the process.
The process begins with our dentist performing a dental exam and taking a few dental X-rays of the part of your smile that will be receiving the implant. This is to help us clearly understand how much healthy jaw structure is still in your mouth. If you have lost bone structure due to a dental extraction, tooth decay, or gum disease, Dr. David Sun might recommend a bone graft to restore dense bone structure so that we can place the dental implant.
We typically perform dental implant procedures on an outpatient basis and use deep sedation to ensure you remain comfortable at all times. You will need to to have a family member or friend drive you and pick you up afterward.
The first step of the dental implant procedure is to create a small incision in your gums so that we can form a narrow channel directly to the bone. We then screw a titanium abutment into place (our dentist uses titanium because it’s biologically safe and can fuse with your jawbone in a process called osseointegration.
We then place a temporary dental crown on top of the titanium abutment to protect it while the area heals. Once the abutment and bone have fused, we will cover the abutment with a permanent dental crown.
If you would like to learn more about the process of placing dental implants in Bryan, Texas, please feel free to call 979-776-6600 and schedule an appoint at MajorSmiles.