Getting an implant

Most patients can get their implant or implants in a series of short office visits. Most experience no significant pain or disruption of their daily routines.

Implant treatment varies from patient to patient depending on many factors. These include: 

• How many teeth need to be replaced?
• Will the implants be going into healed extraction sites? Or do the failing teeth still require extraction?
• What kind of underlying bone exists at the implant-placement sites? 

If teeth must first be extracted, it may be possible to place implants in the tooth sockets at the time of extraction. Under some circumstances, patients may be able to leave the office with temporary replacement teeth already connected to the newly placed implants. Even when a multi-stage procedure is necessary and the implant(s) must first heal before being exposed to chewing and/or biting forces, temporary teeth can always be provided. At no time is it necessary to be toothless. 

Some patients have already lost a lot of jaw bone. In such cases, it is often advisable to perform bone grafting in order to create a sound foundation for the implants.

A team approach

At MVOMS we take a team approach to implant treatment. The team includes: 

• The patient
• The oral surgeon, who extracts failing teeth, places bone graft material (when necessary), and places the implant
• The general (restorative) dentist, who oversees the creation and delivery of the artificial teeth that the implant will support
• The dental laboratory, which fabricates the artificial teeth and customizes supporting components

These team members work together, communicating with each other and coordinating their actions to achieve the best possible results.

The following digital presentation provides additional information about implant and other options for replacing teeth. 

Dental Implants Presentation

To provide you with a better understanding of dental implants, we have provided the following multimedia presentation. Many common questions pertaining to dental implants are discussed.