Teeth in a Day
San Antonio & Pleasanton, TX
Teeth in a Day provided by Drs. Hosseini & Brummerhop
in San Antonio & Pleasanton, TX at Aesthetic Periodontal & Implant Specialists
The American Dental Association states that over 40 million American adults have none of their natural teeth remaining. When you are missing all of your teeth, you do not want to hear that you will have to wait months for a new set of teeth. If you are frustrated with not getting to eat what you want, you may want to think about a same-day smile program. This full-arch restoration procedure can give you the life you have been missing since your tooth loss. For additional information from Aesthetic Periodontal & Implant Specialists on our teeth-in-a-day procedure, contact us.
Request an Appointment
Why Adults Lose Their Teeth
In most cases, adults do not lose their teeth all at once. Instead, they lose teeth gradually over time. Tooth loss can occur frequently in adults who use tobacco, who use alcohol heavily, and in adults with limited access to dental care. If you have a chronic illness, such as diabetes, you may also suffer from tooth loss. However, tooth loss in adults occurs most frequently due to common bacteria found in your mouth that cause periodontal disease and tooth decay.
Adults can lose their teeth in stages. Often, people lose their premolars, which are towards the rear of their mouth, followed by their front teeth, which are called incisors, in both the upper and lower jaw. If you are experiencing tooth loss, you will want a solution. Luckily, our dental office can offer you relief from your tooth woes through prosthodontic planning and mouth restoration procedures.
What Are Prosthodontics?
If you are seeing our dentist, you need to know that there is a branch of dentistry called prosthodontics, which means prosthetic teeth to replace your natural teeth. Prosthodontists are dentists who have specialized in restorative practices for your mouth using prosthetic teeth. Getting prosthodontics could mean dentures or bridges, but these days, it often means dental implants.
 Dental implants represent cutting-edge technology to replace the natural teeth you are missing. Our dentist will create dental implants to try to come as close to representing your natural tooth structures as possible.
All dental implants work the same way, whether they are replacing a single tooth or all of your teeth. Implants have three main parts. First, an implant has a prosthetic tooth, which is also called a crown. The prosthetic teeth are often made of porcelain, so they resemble the color and shine of natural teeth. Your new prosthetic tooth needs a way to anchor it into your jawbone the same way your natural teeth do. To make that possible, our dentist will use an abutment (also called a connector) that attaches your prosthetic tooth to a dental implant screw implanted directly into your jawbone to anchor it.
The Traditional Dental Implant Procedure
If you have been reading about dental implants, you may be somewhat familiar with the traditional implant procedure. Before any implant is placed, dentists need to know if you have a strong jawbone, which they can determine by doing a bone density assessment. If you have a strong jawbone, implantation can begin. The traditional implant procedure begins when our dentist incises the gum tissue to gain access to your jawbone. Then, the dentist will drill a hole directly into your jawbone to place the implant screw. They will then close the incision with sutures or a membrane to promote healing. Usually, your jawbone needs from four to six months to heal and fuse the implant screw to your bone. Once your jawbone has healed completely, our dentist will use an abutment to connect your prosthetic tooth to your implant screw.
Types of Dental Implants
There are different kinds of dental implants that can be based on your restorative dental needs. If you are missing all of your teeth, you may want to opt for a quick resolution.
One solution that can give you teeth quickly is immediate load implants. With immediate load implants, our dentist can give you back your smile quickly. Immediate load implants can give you a full set of teeth in a few days. If you have been missing your teeth for a while, this type of implant can solve your tooth issues. However, immediate load implants are not for everyone. You must have a strong jawbone to support immediate load implants since you will immediately begin using those implants while your jawbone is busy growing bone tissue to support your implant.
If you are not a good candidate for immediate load implants, our dentist may still suggest other alternatives. There are several options for total arch replacement when you are missing all of your teeth.
All-on-4 implants will be able to replace your teeth using four dental implant screws in each jaw using a dental implant-supported bridge or fixed hybrid dentures. Both of these options allow for total arch replacement.
Dental implant-supported bridges are great for people who are missing all of their teeth on one side of either their upper jaw or their lower jaw. You are most likely familiar with bridges because they have been around in dentistry for decades. In the past, you could only have bridges if you had natural teeth that a prosthetic bridge could be cemented to. Now, however, bridges can be fixed to dental implants to replace a number of teeth in your jaw at the same time.
Fixed hybrid dentures represent a total arch replacement. They use prosthetic teeth attached to a denture-like plate, usually made of acrylic because it is light and strong. Instead of needing to remove fixed hybrid dentures each evening, they are attached to your jawbone using dental implants.
How Do I Care for My New Teeth?
Caring for your dental implants, which is called peri-implant care, is not very difficult. However, you need to make sure that you take care of your implants well so they can last for decades. First, be sure you are using non-abrasive toothpaste and a soft toothbrush on your new implants to keep them looking great. Second, you will need to make sure you floss underneath each implant to keep the plaque and food particles away. Also, be sure that you are coming in every six months to have your implants cleaned and checked.
If you have questions about dental implants, why not contact Aesthetic Periodontal & Implant Specialists today at (210) 614-4700 to set up an appointment?
Request an Appointment
|
