Dental Implants

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are prosthetic teeth supported by titanium posts that Dr. Sharma surgically places in your jawbone. These metal posts serve as support for the prosthetic tooth that permanently covers the treatment area.

Titanium naturally blends in with the jawbone and causes no damage to the neighboring teeth.

Dental implants are self-sufficient and serve as an effective alternative to dentures and bridges.

Are dental implants right for me?

Dr. Sharma recommends dental implants if you’ve experienced any of the following:

• Tooth instability
• Swelling in the gum
• Severe and lingering toothache
• Missing teeth

If you’ve noticed any of the above, it’s essential that you schedule an appointment as soon as possible; these symptoms might be indicative of a disease or infection.

Before recommending implants, Dr. Sharma examines your jawbone density and the function of the tooth at stake.  

What should I expect during a dental implant procedure?

Dr. Sharma first starts by removing the damaged tooth and prepares your jawbone for surgery. If Dr. Sharma determines that your jawbone density is too low to accommodate the titanium posts, she will perform a bone grafting procedure.

Bone grafting involves taking healthy bone from a different part of the mouth and grafting it to the treatment site. In most cases, it’ll take a few months for the grafted bone to blend in and generate new, healthy bone.

Once the jawbone is ready, Dr. Sharma surgically places the titanium posts in the jawbone. The most important part of a dental implant procedure is the healing period. Dr. Sharma explains to you the next steps you need to take to make sure your mouth is healing adequately enough to accommodate the implants. You’ll need to allow a few months for healing, after which she’ll place a temporary crown on the treatment site while the permanent one gets made.

When it’s ready, she replaces the temporary crown and cements it permanently.

Are there side effects of dental implants?

The most significant advantage of dental implants is that they pose very minimal risk and have barely any side effects. However, since the dental implant process does involve a surgical procedure, you might experience:

• Infection of the implant
• Sinus problems
• Nerve damage
• Damage to the surrounding area

Get in touch with California Happy Teeth Family Dentistry today by phone or online to learn more about the broad range benefits of dental implants.