Dental implants provide the perfect opportunity for many patients to replace missing or badly damaged teeth while still enjoying a natural looking smile. However, the fact that the process of getting these implants can take up to a year will often be overwhelming for patients who are considering this dental procedure.

If you are one of these patients, taking a moment to review the step-by-step guide outlined below can help to ensure that you understand exactly what to expect over the course of your treatment. With this information in hand, you will be ready to face the implant process with confidence:

Fabricating Your Dental Crowns

In order to provide you with a natural looking smile, it is extremely important that your dentist is able to fabricate dental crowns that perfectly match the size and shape of your natural teeth. This will also help to ensure your new teeth fit comfortably into your mouth without irritating your gums or the surrounding oral tissue.

Making a mold of your existing teeth and surrounding tissue is the most effective way to duplicate the size and shape of your natural teeth. This step will often be completed during your very first appointment and will only take a few minutes. Furthermore, you should not experience any pain or discomfort during this step of the process. Since there is no healing time required after this step, you should expect your next appointment to be scheduled very quickly after the first one.

Extracting Your Natural Teeth

During your second appointment, your dentist will extract any natural teeth that will ultimately be replaced by implants. Local anesthetic will typically be used to minimize pain during this procedure, however, you may experience some pain and discomfort once the procedure is complete. This is especially true for individuals who must have multiple teeth extracted.

The discomfort that accompanies this procedure can typically be managed with the use of over-the-counter pain medications. After a few weeks, your gums should heal from the extraction process and your dentist will be able to schedule your next appointment.

Placing Your Implants

Your third appointment will typically take place at a surgical center. While this step of the process will be completed on an out-patient basis, it will require the use of general anesthesia and will therefore require you to secure transportation as you will be unable to drive for several hours after the procedure is complete.

During this step of the implant process, your dental implants will be surgical placed in your jawbone through small incisions that are made in the gums. After drilling a small hole into your jawbone, the implant is placed inside of the bone and the gums are stitched closed.

Over the course of several months, your jawbone will heal around the implant. This provides the implant with strength by anchoring it in a way that reflects the root structure of a natural tooth. The amount of time that this healing process takes will depend upon how quickly your body tends to heal.

Attaching Implant Posts

Once you have finally healed completely from your surgery, you dentist will schedule your fourth appointment. During this appointment, a small incision will be made in your gums. This incision will allow the dentist to attach a small metal post to each of your implants. These posts will allow the implant to stretch above the gum line and serve as an anchor for your dental crowns.

While waiting for your gums to heal from this procedure, your dentist will provide you with a special pair of temporary dentures that can be worn over the metal posts.

Securing Your Crowns

The final step in the implant process will be to attach a dental crown to each of the metal posts that were placed during the previous step. This is done using a special dental cement that is designed to keep your crowns in place for many years to come.

There should be no pain or discomfort associated with this step of the process.

Showing Off Your New Smile

Now that the implant process is complete, the only thing left to do is go out into the world and show off your beautiful new smile.

To learn more, contact a professional such as Milan Simanek, D.D.S. & Associates for help.

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