Are you missing one or more teeth? You’re certainly not alone. According to the American College of Prosthodontists, more than 120 million Americans are missing at least one of their pearly whites. While there are plenty of options to chose from when it comes to filling that gap in your smile, one stands head and shoulders above the rest: dental implants in Rockwall. This state-of-the-art restoration is truly the next best this to natural teeth since it rebuilds the missing root structure as well as the crown. Read on to learn more, and
give us a call today
to discover how dental implants could potentially change your life!
Why Choose McNew Dental For Dental Implants?
#1 Partnered with Local Dental Implant Specialists
#2 Dr. McNew Has Well Over 30 Years of Experience
#3 Flexible Financing Options to Make Dental Implants Affordable
What Are Dental Implants?
Traditionally, missing teeth have been replaced with either dental bridges or dentures. At McNew Dental, we are proud to also offer dental implants as a revolutionary alternative. Dental implants are a unique treatment that replaces every part of a missing tooth, including its roots. A dental implant itself is a small, screw-shaped titanium (or zirconia) post that is positioned directly into your jawbone. As you heal after surgery, your bone fuses to the posts in a process known as osseointegration. This essentially replaces the roots of the missing tooth, which benefits your jawbone as well as your new smile.
The integration directly into the jawbone provides a strong foundation for the customized restoration it supports that replaces the visible sections of your missing teeth. Depending on how many teeth you’re missing, this could be a dental crown, bridge, partial, or even a full denture! Regardless of how many teeth you’re replacing with dental implants, the final result will look, feel, and function just like natural.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
Just as no two smiles are the same, each dental implant process that our team at McNew Dental creates is unique to every patient. While some patients may require preliminary treatments like bone grafting or sinus lifts, others may not, impacting the timeline and cost of their unique journeys. That being said, all of our treatments do include four major steps: the initial consultation, dental implant placement, osseointegration and abutment placement, and the securing of the final restoration. You can learn more about each of these below.
Initial Consultation
The first and most important step of every dental implant journey is a consultation with our resident dental implant expert, Dr. Danette McNew. She has completed advanced specialty training, including a Live Implant Continuum Study Club and the Southwest Academy for Restorative Dentistry Symposium. With her ample knowledge and experience, she’ll help you determine whether dental implants in Rockwall is the right tooth replacement treatment for you. This will include a thorough examination of your mouth as well as digital imaging.
Based on Dr. McNew’s findings, our team will be able to provide you with a treatment timeline and walk you through each step of the process. That way, you know what to expect before moving forward with the rest of the procedure.
Dental Implant Placement
Dr. McNew partners with knowledgeable and experienced oral surgeons in the area to place your dental implants. We’ll refer you to them and collaborate alongside them, so you have the trusted team that you started your journey with right by your side.
This surgery involves making small access points in the gums where your oral surgeon can place the implants into the jawbone. They’ll then stitch up the soft tissue and provide you with detailed post-operative instructions to ensure you make a healthy and fast recovery. If at any point along the way you have concerns or questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
Osseointegration & Abutment Attachment
Over the following three to six months after your dental implant surgery, the posts will undergo a process called osseointegration. This is when they’ll naturally fuse with the jawbone, replacing the missing roots of your tooth or teeth and providing the bone with much-needed stimulation and blood flow to keep it from deteriorating over time. Once osseointegration is complete and your gums have healed, you’ll return to our team so we can place the abutments, which are small, metal connector pieces. These secure to the top of your implants and will snap the final restoration securely within the mouth.
Delivering the Final Restoration
The final and most exciting part of your treatment will be attaching your custom-crafted final restoration. If you’re missing one tooth, it will be a free-standing crown, and if you’re missing several or all of your teeth, it will be a dental bridge or full denture. Upon going through our team’s rigorous quality check, we’ll call you in to attach your new replacement teeth to your implants, anchoring them in place and making them look and feel completely natural.
The Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants are designed to replace the roots of teeth as well as the crown, creating the most natural replacement tooth possible. By adhering to the natural bone inside the jaw after placement, implants can last much longer than a bridge or denture, which have to deal with the ever-changing shape of the face and gums over time. Implants also stimulate your natural bone and allow blood flow to resume, preventing the jaw from losing its most optimal biting force and your face from prematurely sagging and changing shape. If you care about eating all your favorite foods while still maintaining your current appearance, dental implants are clearly the best choice!
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Dental implants can be used to replace any number of missing teeth anywhere in the mouth. Plus, there is no upper age limit for this revolutionary tooth loss solution as long as you meet the following requirements:
You are well enough to undergo minor surgery
You are free of oral health issues like tooth decay and gum disease
Your jawbone is strong enough to support dental implants
If you are not initially a candidate for dental implants, there are various advanced dental implant treatments that can potentially get you on track for your new smile. Once we’ve determined that you’re a good fit for dental implants, we’ll create your treatment plan based on how many teeth you’re missing:
Missing Single Tooth
The traditional solution to a missing tooth is a dental bridge, which requires altering the neighboring healthy teeth in order to support the restoration. Dental implants are fully self-supporting, making them a healthier choice for your smile. A single dental implant post will be placed into the jawbone where the roots of the missing tooth once were, then it is topped with a custom-made dental crown.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Just like with a traditional bridge, an implant bridge can be used to replace a row of consecutive missing teeth. To do this, two implants will be placed on either side of the gap in a person’s smile, and these will support a custom dental bridge instead of the neighboring teeth. For multiple missing teeth throughout the mouth, several strategically-placed dental implants can be used to support a partial denture.
Missing All Teeth
At Mcnew Dental, we can offer patients with multiple missing teeth a variety of strong, natural-looking replacements, but among the best are implant dentures. This remarkable denture resembles its traditional removable counterpart in appearance, but thanks to the assistance of dental implants, they’re able to rebuild a patient’s smile in a way that is more lifelike, durable, and comfortable. With them, your implant dentist can help you finally say “goodbye” to the gaps in your smile for good.
Dental implants offer lifelike, long-lasting results, and these effective smile restorations require patients to make a larger investment of time and money upfront than other solutions. Since no two treatment plans are exactly alike, our team at McNew Dental will walk you through every step and the price associated with each before we begin restoring your smile. With this in mind, keep reading to learn some of the factors that influence the cost of dental implants in Rockwall, and contact our team with any further questions.
Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery
If you have existing oral health problems, you'll likely need preliminary treatments before moving forward with the dental implant process. Even though services like gum disease therapy, tooth extractions, and bone grafting will add to the overall cost of your treatment, depending on your case they can be necessary to maximize the lifespan of your new smile. Fortunately, most of them are partially covered by dental insurance.
Keep in mind that dental implant surgery has a cost of its own. We are partnered with the best local oral surgeons who specialize in implant placement, so you can rest assured that you are investing in what will be a quality result for your smile.
The Parts of Your Dental Implant
When it comes to dental implants in Rockwall, the cost is affected by multiple factors including:
Material – Implants made of zirconia instead of titanium typically cost less.
Brand – Manufacturers make dental implants differently based on the needs of each patient. Be sure to ask your implant dentist where you’re getting yours from as well as any brand-specific benefits.
Number of Dental Implants – Obviously, replacing a single missing tooth with one dental implant will cost less than replacing an entire row with an implant denture.
Type of Restoration – Crowns, bridges, and dentures each cost different amounts. Expense corresponds to the size of the restoration.
How Dental Implants Can Save You Money
Patients on a budget often choose dentures or dental bridges as their method of tooth replacement because they’re cost-effective. Even though dental implants have a higher upfront cost, they end up paying for themselves over time. For example, you won’t need to spend on replacements or adjustments every few years.
You also don’t have to worry about purchasing special pastes, solutions, or other products to maintain your rebuilt grin. All you must do is care for your implants like you would for your natural teeth! Since they’re easier to maintain, you can more easily avoid oral health issues that would require costly dental treatment.
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
Most dental insurance plans do not offer coverage for dental implants. However, there are some exceptions. Certain parts of the final restoration or your preliminary treatments might be eligible for coverage. Before committing to anything, contact your insurance provider to confirm the details of your coverage. Our team is happy to help with that step if needed!
Making Dental Implants Affordable
Don’t have dental insurance? No problem! We work with third-party financiers to help make your dental bills much easier to manage. With CareCredit, you can sign up for low-to-no-interest payment plans to break up the overall cost of your treatment into smaller monthly installments.
Ready to upgrade your smile and your oral health? We want to be the implant dentist in Rockwall that you count on! Contact us today to schedule a consultation so we can answer any questions you might have.
Dental Implant Failure & Salvage
Dental implants are successful in more than 95% of cases. However, that does still leave the slight possibility that something will go wrong with your new teeth. Whether it is due to infection, physical trauma, or other causes, dental implant failure can occur at any time. If you ever suspect that all is not well with your restored smile, get in touch with us right away. We will evaluate the situation and recommend your next steps. Our goal is to get your oral health back on track as soon as possible!
Are you ready to replace your missing teeth for good? While dental implants are one of the most popular tooth loss solutions available, it’s only natural to have some questions about them. At McNew Dental, we want our patients to have all the information they need to make a confident and informed decision about their smile. If you have any questions about dental implants, we’ll be happy to address them at your consultation with us. Until then, here are some of the answers you may be looking for.
How Successful Are Dental Implants?
One of the many reasons that dental implants are so popular is that they have an incredibly high success rate. When the surgery is performed by someone skilled, around 95% of dental implants can be expected to succeed after 20 years.
There are a few factors that affect this success rate, like the quality of maintenance and the location of the implant in the mouth. However, so long as you take good care of your smile, your dental implants can last you a lifetime!
What Can Cause Dental Implants to Fail?
While rare, there are some ways that a dental implant can fail. This is usually for one of two reasons.
The first is an inability of the titanium post to properly fuse with the jawbone. This process is called osseointegration, and it’s vitally important to a dental implant’s stability. Osseointegration can fail due to a weak healing factor, like with diabetics, or if patients smoke during the recovery process.
The second reason dental implants fail is due to infection. If bacteria seep below the gum line, they can begin to attack the bone tissue holding the implant in place. This style of infection can compromise the integrity of the dental implant. For that reason, it’s crucial that dental implant patients maintain good dental hygiene.
Am I Too Old to Get Dental Implants?
Age doesn’t have to hold you back from replacing your teeth. Older people’s dental implants have success rates comparable to those of younger patients, meaning that it’s never too late to get your ideal smile.
However, while age itself isn’t a problem, seniors are more likely to have pre-existing health issues that complicate treatment. Diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and gum disease are just some of the diseases that could pose a problem for your dental implants. For that reason, we will always start out with a thorough conversation that reviews your medical history and any potential issues before beginning dental implant treatment.
How Long Does It Take to Recover from Dental Implant Surgery?
As far as surgeries go, dental implants aren’t all that intensive. While it’ll take around six months for the dental implant to fuse completely with the jawbone, you should be able to go back to normal life as soon as the day after surgery.
You may experience some bleeding and swelling immediately after surgery, but this should fade within a day or two. You may also want to hold off from vigorous exercise for about a week, as this can potentially reopen the wound.
If we’ve prescribed you any medications, you should be sure to take these as directed. If not, you may want to rely on over-the-counter pain relievers to manage any discomfort.
