Dental Implants – Palm Beach Dental Health with Dr. Dolce, DMD
At the Palm Beach (and West Palm Beach) offices of Dr. Dolce, DMD, dental implants are used to create a base upon which dental crowns, Palm Beach dental bridges and even full dentures are supported.
Dr. Dolce, DMD recommends dental implants for:
- Support structure for dental crowns and bridges while leaving the adjacent teeth uncompromised.
- Restoring natural chewing and speech functions.
- Eliminating the need for partial dentures.
- Providing support and stability for full dentures.
- Preventing bone loss and reducing the chances of gum disease.
- Restoration of your natural looking, beautiful smile.
Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry
When a tooth (or teeth) are missing it is necessary to provide the support and functionality, that was lost with the loss of the teeth, as soon as possible. Each of your teeth work in concert with the others and the loss of one or more teeth will cause movement in the remaining teeth which causes further problems with chewing, speech, gum disease and can even lead to tempero-mandibular joint (tmj) disorder.
Without the stimulation that teeth give to the bone during the chewing process the bone will begin to disappear as it is reabsorbed by the body. Dental Implants supply the necessary hint to the body that the bone is still required and it will be preserved as though the missing teeth were still in place.
Which dental implant do you need?
Depending on the variables of your particular case, Dr. Dolce will prescribe one of the three basic types of dental implants:
- Support structure for dental crowns and bridges while leaving the adjacent teeth uncompromised.
- Endosteal or in-the-bone implants are the most commonly used to support one or more false teeth, for patients that need dental bridges or to anchor removable dentures.
- Subperiosteal dental implants rest on the bone and are used in cases where there is a minimum amount of bone that would not allow for the implant to be placed directly into the bone.
- Mini dental implants are used in narrow spaces, for crowns on small teeth and incisors.
The implant procedure of Palm Beach Dentist, Dr. Dolce, DMD
Dental implants are stable and mimic the look and functions of natural teeth so well because they actually become part of the bone through a process called ‘osseointegration’.
To prepare the bone to receive the titanium metal screw that is the base of the implant a small hole is drilled into the bone where the teeth are missing, much as a carpenter would drill a pilot hole in wood to start a wood screw. After the titanium screw is inserted into the bone it is covered to protect it for the 3-6 months that the bone needs to heal and integrate with the implant.
Once the dental implant has become firmly anchored to the bone a temporary crown is placed on the implant until the gum has a chance to shape itself in such a way that it will look natural when the permanent crowns or bridges are cemented in place.
Natural looking, Long Lasting dental implants
Dental Implants last much longer than other dental restorations. Crowns and bridges can last from 5-10 years or more while the average dental implants can last for more than two decades.
Personal habits can have an impact on the life span of dental implants and smokers face a higher risk of implant failure than the population in general where the success rate is over 90% and the life span of the dental implants can exceed twenty years.
Proper dental hygiene and regular visits to Dr. Dolce’s office will give you the maximum benefit from your natural looking dental implants.
Cost-Effective Dental Implants
Even thought the initial cost of dental implants can be higher than for more traditional cosmetic dentistry, the need to replace crowns and bridges on a more frequent basis means that in the long run dental implants can be less costly.
Depending on the particulars of your case a single implant can be priced at anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000.
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