Dental Implants – Las Vegas, NV
A Foundation for a Healthier, Complete Smile
A missing tooth can compromise the look and health of your smile. There are many tooth replacement options from dental bridges to dentures. Today's modern dental therapies offer a choice that mimics nature from the root up for lasting oral health and beauty – dental implants.
Why Choose Summerlin Center for Aesthetic Dentistry for Dental Implants?
- Implant Surgery Performed In-House
- Wide Variety of Customized Restorations
- Efficient All-on-4 Dentures Available
What are Dental Implants?
Traditional tooth replacements only replace the parts of the teeth above the gums. Dental implants, on the other hand, are artificial tooth roots that are permanently joined to your jawbone. Their job is to act as a foundation for crowns, bridges, or dentures. That way, you can replace your teeth with restorations that will always stay firmly attached to the mouth and offer chewing power and stability that’s on par with that of your original smile.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
To revitalize your smile with dental implants, you must undergo a multi-phased treatment process. Although it may take longer than traditional options, it is time well spent because your new smile can last for several decades with the right aftercare. While the process may seem overwhelming, you have nothing to fear. Here is what you can expect on your journey to a complete smile.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
Your first step to rebuilding your smile requires a trip to your dentist in Las Vegas. You need an initial consultation to ensure you are a candidate for dental implants. Besides a visual examination, Dr. Pamela West reviews digital X-rays and a CT scan to assess your oral health and structures. She also takes the time to discuss your medical and lifestyle history to ensure you have minimal risk factors for implant failure.
Dental Implant Surgery
The CT scan is used to pinpoint the ideal location for your implant posts, which act as new roots. Oral surgery is needed to place them into your jawbone. While under sedation or anesthesia, your gum tissue is opened to expose your jawbone. A hole is drilled into it for each post to be inserted. Your gum tissue is sutured closed, and the healing process begins.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment
The implant posts stimulate your jaw to encourage new bone growth. This allows your jaw to fuse to them over the next several months through a process called osseointegration. This can seem like a lengthy delay, but it is necessary to provide a secure and stable foundation for your restorations. It also allows the implant posts to potentially remain in place forever.
After your jawbone is healed, you need a second minor surgery to attach abutments to your implant posts. These special fixtures are connector pieces between the posts and your restorations. It typically takes about 2 weeks for your gum tissue to heal after they have been placed.
Placement of Dental Implant Restorations
The final stage of your treatment involves your restorations. Digital impressions of your mouth are taken to get the exact measurements necessary to create your restorations to meet your exact needs. They are carefully crafted to match the color, size, and shape you need to promote your oral functions. Your restorations are made from all-ceramic materials to look natural, so no one will notice they are not your real teeth.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants offer many benefits that traditional tooth loss solutions cannot match. Unlike other restorative treatments, dental implants are designed to fuse with your jawbone, creating a sturdy foundation that allows them to work just like real teeth. This comfortable, functional, and natural-looking tooth replacement method can deliver a range of considerable benefits for your oral and overall health as well as your confidence and your self-image. Here are just a few of the benefits you can expect after receiving dental implants through the Summerlin Center for Aesthetic Dentistry.
Day-to-Day Benefits
After replacing your lost teeth with dental implants, you will notice some significant improvements in your daily life, such as:
- Being able to enjoy all the foods that dentures and dental bridges have difficulty chewing.
- Easily cleaning your dental implants with the same methods that you use to care for your natural teeth. This means you won’t have to worry about elaborate nightly soaking rituals like you would with dentures.
- Giving you the confidence to smile generously at friends and strangers alike. This will help you appear friendlier and more approachable, allowing you to make a stunning first impression in social or business situations.
Health Benefits
Dental implants also offer patients several important health benefits that can help them stay fit and strong for life. A few of these include:
- By allowing a patient to eat any food they like, dental implants can greatly improve their overall health through better nutrition. Many healthy foods such as lean meat and raw vegetables are too tough and fibrous for dentures and dental bridges to easily chew, but dental implants can tear and grind them easily.
- Creating a stable hold inside your jawbone through the natural process of osseointegration prevents dental implants from sliding against the gums and other soft tissues of the mouth, meaning that patients will not have to worry about them causing sores or dental sensitivity.
- Being easy to clean makes it much less difficult for patients to remove bacteria and food debris that can cause bad breath, nasty oral infections, and permanent damage such as further tooth loss.
Long-Term Benefits
With excellent care, dental implants can last for more than thirty years, allowing them to deliver impressive long-term benefits like:
- Dental implants boast an impressive success rate of over 95% even ten years after placement, making them a sound investment for patients willing to commit to excellent oral hygiene.
- Since dental implants are permanent, they won’t need to be periodically replaced like dentures or dental bridges, potentially saving the patient thousands of dollars in the long run.
- Because dental implants are placed directly into the jawbone, they provide the stimulation it needs to stay healthy and strong for life. This can prevent issues like the remaining teeth drifting out of alignment, further tooth loss, and the appearance of sagging cheeks and withered lips.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Those with tooth loss are more likely to lose more teeth later in life. If that happens, dental implants can help! Learn how they are fully capable of replacing one tooth or an entire arch with ease!
Missing Single Tooth
Replacing one tooth only requires a single implant and porcelain crown. This effectively restores many functions lost due to your tooth loss, including bone stimulation and blood flow. These restored functions work to strengthen your bite and prevent premature sagging.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Instead of relying on a traditional bridge, patients can use an implant-retained version. The restoration is anchored via two dedicated dental implants, which means neighboring teeth do not need to have enamel removed just to make room for their placement.
Missing All Your Teeth
If you’re tired of your current denture and need a more stable solution for your tooth loss, a series of dental implants can be placed throughout the jaw in order to anchor a full arch. Even though only four to six implants are placed at a time, they are capable of holding an entire row of teeth with ease.
All-on-4 Dentures
For full-mouth tooth replacement, patients no longer have to rely on traditional, removable dentures or implant dentures that require invasive surgical procedures to ensure support for the restoration. All-on-4 dentures utilize the naturally denser portions of the jaw to provide support for the denture without the need for preparatory procedures like tissue grafts. By positioning the implant posts precisely, we are able to deliver maximum stability for the full dentures.
Learn More About All-on-4 Dentures
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Keep in mind that the cost of your dental implant treatment may be completely different from another patient. This is largely because the treatment itself is very customizable, which means your costs will vary depending on the restoration you choose. For example, placing one implant with one crown is going to be much cheaper than placing two implants holding three to four crowns. If you have insufficient bone inside your jaw, you may also need preparatory treatments prior to surgery, including bone grafts and sinus lifts.
However, dental implants are also considered to be the most cost-effective solution to tooth loss, despite their high upfront price. As a long-term solution, you won’t have to worry about replacements or repair nearly as much as you would for other options.
Advanced Dental Implant Procedures
It’s not easy learning you’re not a candidate for dental implants in Las Vegas. When you’ve discovered a solution that offers the stability and permanence you want, it can be disheartening to realize you might have to settle for another solution that doesn’t meet your desired criteria. Luckily, the dental experts at Summerlin Center for Aesthetic Dentistry can still make your dental implant dreams a reality with an advanced dental implant procedure. Whether you need additional bone support or a sinus lift, these two procedures can make it possible for you to replace your missing teeth with dental implants. Ready to take the next step in your journey to a fully restored smile? Contact our office today to schedule an appointment.
Bone Grafting
Over time, when your missing teeth are left untreated, you’ll begin to notice that various changes occur, some of which include:
- Facial changes
- Shifting or loosening teeth
- Bone deterioration
If you’ve decided to do something about these vacated sockets in your mouth but your jawbone has lost a substantial amount of density, your chances of successful implant placement decrease significantly. Why? Because the implant needs a strong jawbone to hold it in place. If this is a situation you’re dealing with, there’s no need to worry.
Your dentist in Las Vegas can suggest a bone graft to provide the extra support you’ll need for successful dental implant placement. During the procedure, we will use bone minerals (grafting material) and incorporate them into the area needing additional support. The minerals used will encourage your body to rebuild the bone and, in turn, will serve as a solid foundation for your dental implants.
Depending on the amount of bone that needs to be replaced, the healing time can vary. The average time spent healing is 3 to 6 months. When it’s time to return for your implant placement, Dr. West will re-examine your mouth and determine if you are ready for your tooth replacement surgery. If necessary, you may need to wait a little while longer to ensure everything is properly healed.
Sinus Lift
If it’s not bone loss you have to worry about, it might be that your sinuses are keeping you from having the smile of your dreams. It’s no surprise since your sinuses are in close proximity to your jaw. Because of the location, if it looks as if they are too close to the jawbone, it can make it difficult to receive dental implants.
To remedy the situation, Dr. West will perform a sinus lift, which effectively lifts the sinuses up and out of the way. After spending several months healing, much like a bone grafting procedure, you’ll return to our office and be re-examined to ensure you are ready for your dental implant procedure.
Dental Implant FAQs
Dental implants in Las Vegas are an excellent investment; however, they are also a big commitment. Most patients have a few concerns before they are ready to move forward with the procedure. Your implant dentist will explain everything during your implant consultation. While you wait for your appointment, here are the answers to frequently asked questions to calm your nerves.
Can I take dental implants out?
No, you can’t remove a dental implant on your own because it recreates both the root and crown. A titanium post is placed into your jawbone to replicate the root. Your bone will integrate with the post, allowing it to remain in place forever with the right care. Only a trained dental professional can remove a post from the bone, such as in cases of failure; however, some implant dentures can be taken out for easier cleaning.
How long do dental implants last?
A dental implant is the most reliable method to replace a lost tooth. With over a 95% success rate, your new tooth can last for 30 years or longer, but the lifespan depends on various factors, like your lifestyle habits. A solid oral hygiene routine at home and regular care from your dentist can safeguard your investment. The location of the implant can also influence how long it will last. The back teeth undergo more wear and tear than the front, so they have a slightly shorter lifespan. You can decrease unnecessary pressure on the molars by limiting how often you eat hard or chewy foods. If you can’t resist a juicy steak, cut it into small pieces to make it easier to chew.
Am I too old for dental implants?
You are never too old for dental implants! However, certain medical conditions and medications are common as you age. As a result, your placement surgery can be a little trickier, but not impossible. Your implant dentist in Las Vegas will examine your mouth and learn more about your health to look for any issues that might affect your body’s ability to heal or fight infections. In some cases, you may require additional procedures before your placement surgery, like gum disease treatment or periodontal therapy. They’ll create a personalized plan to replace your missing teeth safely and effectively.
Does getting dental implants hurt?
It’s normal to be concerned about pain since you’ll need oral surgery, but there isn’t any reason to worry. Your implant dentist will keep you comfortable using sedation or anesthesia. Not to mention, your jawbone doesn’t have any nerve endings, so you won’t feel anything during your placement procedure. You can expect your mouth to be sore for a few days after the effects of any anesthesia or sedation dissipate. You can manage any discomfort using an OTC pain reliever. Applying a cold compress to the outside of your mouth can numb the area temporarily while reducing any swelling and bruising. Your discomfort should improve after 3-4 days. If it doesn’t, contact our office for further advice.