Month: May 2023

Hey there, and welcome to New Smile Transformations! Dental implants might be the perfect solution for you if you wish for a complete and confident smile. Dental implants act like natural teeth, allowing you to eat, speak, and smile without worry.

In this complete guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need about the dental implant process and timeline, so you can better understand what to expect along your journey to a brand-new smile.

The first step in your dental implant journey is the initial consultation. We’ll take some x-rays, maybe a CT scan, and chat about your medical history at this appointment. We need to know if you have any underlying medical conditions that could impact the success of your dental implants. If everything checks out, we’ll work with you to create a tailored treatment plan that meets your unique needs. You might also meet with specialists during this stage, such as oral surgeons or periodontists, to ensure you receive the best care possible.

Now, if you need a tooth removed before your dental implant can be placed, this is when we’ll take care of that. The complexity of dental extractions varies, and the recovery time and costs depend on factors like whether the tooth is impacted, broken, or damaged. We’ll discuss this during your consultation, so you’ll know exactly what to expect.

Sometimes, bone grafting might be necessary before your dental implant surgery. This is when we take bone from another part of your body (or use synthetic bone) and graft it into your jawbone. This thickens the jawbone, so it can adequately support your dental implant. The bone graft healing process can take anywhere from 4 to 12 months, but don’t worry: we’ll be with you every step of the way, with follow-up appointments to make sure everything’s healing just right.

The big day has finally arrived: your dental implant surgery! We’ll make sure you’re comfortable with a sedative before we get started. During the surgery, we’ll carefully cut into your gums, drill a small hole into your jawbone, and insert a titanium implant that acts like the root of your new tooth. Titanium is super strong and lightweight; best of all, it’s rarely ever rejected by the body. The procedure usually takes just a couple of hours, and you might have some sutures to heal up afterward (which we’ll remove in a week or two). After your surgery, you’ll begin a process called osseointegration.

Osseointegration is a critical part of the dental implant process. It’s when your body fuses the titanium implant into your jawbone, making it a permanent part of your body. This can take three to seven months, depending on your healing. Just a heads up: if you’re a smoker, you’ll want to quit before osseointegration begins, as smoking can cause the whole process to fail.

After your gums have healed, we’ll place an abutment, which is the piece that connects your dental implant to your new artificial tooth (or teeth). The abutment can sometimes be placed during the initial surgery, but it’s done separately at other times. Your custom-made crown should be ready two weeks after your abutment is placed!

This is the final and most exciting step in your dental implant journey: placing your new tooth (or teeth)! After everything’s healed and osseointegration is complete, we’ll create impressions of your mouth to create the perfect, natural-looking artificial tooth. You’ll get a temporary crown to wear while we create your permanent crown, which usually takes about six weeks.

Then, you’ll come back in, and we’ll secure your new tooth (or teeth) in place by cementing it or screwing it onto the post. If you’ve chosen removable dentures, we’ll give you those to snap onto your abutments, and you can take them off for cleaning and maintenance.

So, to sum up, your dental implant journey:

1. Consultation and treatment plan development

2. Possible dental extractions and bone grafts

3. Dental implant surgery

4. Osseointegration

5. Abutment placement

6. Artificial tooth or teeth placement

The timeline for each step can vary based on individual circumstances, but we’ll guide you through every step with compassion and expert care.

At New Smile Transformations, we aim to help Mississippi residents achieve their dream smiles through safe and effective dental implant treatments. If you’d like to learn more about dental implants and what they can do for you, please visit our website NewSmileTransformations.com or call us. We can’t wait to help you transform your smile and your life!