Implants

Here at Sundial Dentistry we place surgical dental implants. We use a digital workflow that’s proven and precise to fabricate a surgical guide for an exact placement of the implant in the jaw. A dental implant is a titanium “root” which can be placed into the jawbone. Once integrated with your bone, the implant can be used to support a crown, a bridge or secure a partial or complete denture. Dental implants may be used to eliminate partials and dentures. Implants have been used successfully for over thirty years. Implants have a high success rate and function and feel like your natural teeth. Dental implants are now the standard of care for replacing missing teeth. Dental implant treatment represents a slightly greater investment than conventional treatment; however, the benefits of implant therapy for most patients outweigh the minor additional cost involved.

What is a Dental Implant?

Implants are a tooth replacement option that involves placing a new “root” into the bone of your jaw. Once this titanium “root” has infused with your bone it can be used to support a crown, bridge, or denture. These implants can also be used to replace partials and other forms of dentures. The success rates for dental implants are extremely high. This is due in part to the fact that root-form implants are made of a highly biocompatible material, titanium. Because titanium is accepted so well by the human body, it is also used for orthopedic implants, such as hip and knee replacements. Dental Implants have now become the standard for replacing older dentistry and missing teeth because they look and feel like your natural teeth and have a higher success rate than all other forms of tooth replacement. The initial cost is generally higher for an implant over other forms of tooth replacement, but the long-term benefits easily outweigh the difference in additional cost. An investment in implant dentistry is an investment in overall health, appearance and well being, as it involves preserving the integrity of facial structures, as well as replacing missing teeth. 

Why are Dental Implants the best option?

Dental implants can last a lifetime, unlike bridges, partials, and dentures that may need to be replaced several times. Unlike bridges, partials, and dentures, a dental implant replaces the lost tooth root, which will prevent jaw bone resorption that occurs with bridges, partials, and dentures. The loss of tooth roots will cause a change of the smile and contours of the face over time. A bridge, once the common single tooth replacement method, requires the alteration of each neighboring healthy tooth, which is cut down and shaped to accept a crown. With dental implant treatment, there is no compromise to adjacent teeth leaving neighboring healthy teeth in place.

Removable partials connect to healthy teeth by hooks known as clasps. Partials often need to be removed for cleaning and may need to be replaced. A partial denture’s clasp is connected to a healthy tooth that can create stress and can loosen the healthy tooth over time. Full arch dentures and partials have the added disadvantage of accelerating the bone resorption process, which, among other things, causes the appearance of premature aging. 

How will my teeth look and feel?

Although nothing can replace your God given tooth or teeth, a dental implant will feel more like a tooth than any other prosthetic option. A single tooth supported by an implant with healthy gums will look and feel like any other tooth in your mouth. Dental implant treatment is the only tooth replacement solution that prevents jaw bone resorption, which can cause your smile to look unnatural and in some cases change your facial appearance. The long term esthetics of dental implants are superior to any other treatment option currently available. back to index

Am I a candidate for Dental Implant treatment?

If you are missing one or more teeth and in general good health you are a candidate for dental implant treatment. There are a few qualifying factors that need to be addressed:

• Quality and quantity of available bone for implant placement.
• Uncontrollable diabetes or other medical conditions that would be contraindicated.

Overall, there are very few conditions that would keep someone from having implant treatment. Even people who have lost a significant amount of bone can qualify for dental implant treatment; although, an additional procedure(s) to add bone or to create new bone may be necessary. Advances in this type of treatment have made it possible for most people who would not previously have been considered candidates to have successful implant treatment. back to index

Is my age a factor for Dental Implant treatment?

Providing your overall health is good there is really no age restriction. The desire to improve your quality of life is frankly a more important consideration than age. It is not unusual for people with dentures to upgrade to implant supported dentures. It provides a renewed self-confidence in their smile and speech. It also provides renewed chewing stability, plus brings back foods into their life that were once off limit. back to index

How long will it take to complete treatment?

Traditional treatment may take several months, depending upon the quality of the bone in which the implants are placed. If an additional procedure is required in order to augment the bone, the total treatment time may be between six to nine months. back to index

Is a Dental Implant procedure painful?

Most implant patients report there was no pain at all. The discomfort is far less than they expected, and is no more remarkable than having a crown procedure or filling. Of course you are given local anesthetic for the procedure, and although everyone’s pain tolerance is different, most patients are very comfortable simply taking over-the-counter analgesics, or they didn’t require any analgesics at all. 

How long do Dental Implants last?

Dental implants are designed to be permanent; however, there are a few factors that may contribute to the long term success of dental implant treatment, such as the original quality of the surgical and restorative treatment, proper home care and regular check-up visits to your dentist or dental specialist much like caring for any natural tooth. Dental implant treatment is one of the most successful procedures in the medical-dental field, with documented success rates over 95%. Dental implants have been around for over 30 years and have closely documented clinical research that demonstrates that dental implants will be successful throughout the lifetime of a patient. By comparison, research also demonstrates that the average tooth supported bridge (conventional dentistry) lasts from 7-10 years and partials and dentures may need to be replaced several times depending on age and functional habits. 

Can a Dental Implant work with existing dentures?

Every patient’s situation is unique; however, from time-to-time we can use an existing denture by altering the denture to accommodate the necessary denture attachments to fit the implants.

What is the difference between a traditional crown and bridge and an implant supported crown and bridge?

There are several differences.

• A dental implant preserves jaw bone.

• We do not have to destroy neighboring health teeth by grinding down the teeth to pegs in order to accept a crown on either side of the missing tooth.

• Implants last longer than traditional crown and bridge. Implants are designed to last a lifetime, while a traditional crown and bridge is projected to last approximately 10 years due to decay at the gumline. 

Although dental implants have become the standard of care they are more expensive than old tooth replacement methods. They are a better choice for the money; however, some dentists still recommend traditional tooth supported bridges for patients due to their own comfort level, or when patients insist on having the immediate lowest possible fee for tooth replacement. Most dentists today detest the idea of grinding down perfectly healthy teeth to place a traditional bridge, and therefore, will almost always recommend dental implant treatment in these cases.

When should a tooth be extracted and replaced with a Dental Implant?

• There are times when it makes sense to extract a tooth and replace it with a dental implant.

• If a natural tooth is failing or about to fail either due to infection or loss of tooth structure.

• If a tooth has severe periodontal disease (gum disease involving bone loss) that has dissolved the bone that supports teeth. Sometimes in these cases, it is preferable to extract the teeth; eliminate the disease and infection, bone graft the defect and replace the tooth with a dental implant.

• When a tooth has had a root canal (nerves have been removed from the tooth) leaving the tooth brittle and susceptible to fracture. Teeth with severe fractures are usually extracted and are ideal candidates for replacement with dental implant treatment. 

Do Dental Implants require special care?

Yes. Great oral home care for dental implants is vital to their long term survival. Multiple implants require more home care than single tooth implants. Hygiene maintenance with regular brushing and flossing may not be enough to prevent infection of the gums around the implant or bone loss. This is why Dr Sutherland recommends a Waterpik with a few drops of bleach in the basin of clean water to daily irrigate around the implant and gums surrounding it. It is also extremely important to continue regular hygiene appointments as directed by your dentist or hygienist. 

What is the cost of Dental Implant treatment?

The actual cost of dental implant treatment is based on a number of factors, such as the number of missing teeth being replaced, the type of implant supported teeth (treatment option) recommended and whether additional procedures are necessary to achieve the proper esthetic and functional result. The only way to accurately estimate the cost for an individual patient is to have an examination and consultation with your dentist. The total fee is usually comparable to other methods of tooth replacement; however, long-term, implant treatment is generally more cost effective than other options, such as bridges, partials and dentures that may need to be replaced a few times during one’s life. 

Is Dental Implant treatment covered by my insurance?

Dental insurance coverage of implant treatment depends on your individual policy. Generally, dental policies cover basic routine preventive maintenance, basic care and emergencies. Most insurance plans only cover the basics with an annual maximum allowable benefit of $1,000-$1,500. Most insurance plans do not include dental implant coverage; however, often they will pay the same benefit they would cover for the lowest cost alternative treatment option (partials and dentures) and some of the diagnostic records, if a specific request is made for alternative benefits. You should review both your dental insurance plan and your medical insurance plan. Medical coverage is very rare and Medicare does not cover implant treatment.  back to index

Implant Benefits

There are many benefits to receiving a dental implant over other forms of treatment:
– Neighboring teeth do not have to be compromised
– Implants maintain the bone
– They look and function much like natural teeth
– Dental Implants can replace partials and are used to secure loose dentures

From implant placement to restoration

Dr’s Sutherland and Lewis use a precision surgical guide to place an implant. 

Step 1. In our office we use highly advanced software to integrate Computed Tomography (CT) and Computer Automated Design (CAD) in order to idealize the placement of the implant. Once we idealize the placement of the implant we send our information to a laboratory to produce a surgical guide based on our simulated placement. 

Step 2. Day of surgery. Yes this is a surgical procedure. Local anesthetic is administered. An incision is made into the gums where the missing tooth is. A flap is reflected to expose the bone and the surgical guide is placed over the teeth with a sleeve to guide the surgery. The initial drill is used to begin the procedure until the hole in the bone is ready to receive the implant. The succession of drills to make the hole is called the osteotomy. After the implant is screwed into place with specified torque parameters, the gums are closed up and a healing cap is screwed into the implant and the process of healing begins. This process can take approximately four to six months to ensure the implant has fused with the bone and is a sturdy base for the new tooth.

Step 3. We unscrew the healing cap, and a small hand operated torque wrench is used to confirmed there is no movement of the implant at 45 ncm. Once it’s  confirmed by a torque test, a special abutment is screwed into the implant and a standard impression is taken and sent to the laboratory for fabrication, or a scan is taken using CAD technology and is sent to a laboratory for abutment machining and the crown is milled in our office and readied for delivery in the mouth. 

Step 4. Day of final restoration. We remove the healing cap and screw in the new abutment and cement the crown. If the crown and abutment are one piece, we screw in the abutment and crown and fill the screw access hole with composite resin. 

Single Tooth Dental Implant

Do you have missing teeth? It is critically important to replace missing teeth. Eating and chewing with missing teeth can sabotage your bite and lead to incessant discomfort. Missing teeth can give rise to a mouth rearrangement that often results in facial changes that look decrepit. If a tooth is missing or has been extracted for any reason, a single implant can be used to replace the missing tooth. The implant is placed into the bone of the jaw and acts as the new tooth root. After the bone has healed over the implant an abutment can be placed on the implant and a crown can then be attached. This method of tooth replacement looks and feels like natural teeth.

Multiple Tooth Implants

If you need or desire to permanently replace two or more missing adjacent teeth. Implants are the way to go. Multiple implants are placed and restored the same way as a single implant is placed and restored with the exception that multiple implants can be restored as individualized teeth or bridged together. Healing time is the same, and tested just like single tooth implants. When multiple implants are linked together as a bridge, it requires a laboratory to customize the prosthetic to fit the multiple abutments. Next, abutments are screwed into the implant and the final restoration is cemented over the abutments.

Full Arch Implants

If you have slipping dentures and are tired of being self-conscious about the thought of losing them at an inopportune moment, an implant supported full arch denture might be the solution for you. Dental implants can be placed to hold a full arch denture that snaps into a specialized abutment and is therefore removed by you whenever you desire. Or another option is a full arch screw retained set of teeth that only come out by the dentist. If you never want to remove your denture yourself you might find this to be a wonderful treatment alternative. The screw retained set of teeth are highly esthetic, and are extremely stable. Nevertheless, routine six month maintenance is essential, the dental team will remove the appliance and clean the implant abutments similar to a dental cleaning appointment. Then, the dentist will put the appliance back in your mouth and tighten it to proper torque specifications. No matter what option you choose, you will be able to chew your food better and with greater confidence.