Dental Implants Specialist

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are small posts made of titanium or ceramic. Your Safari Dental provider surgically places them into small incisions in your gumline. Once placed, dental implants can support dental crowns, dental bridges, or implant-supported dentures.

Dental implants don’t rely on bonding. They stay in place via a process called osseointegration. Following implant surgery, your bone grows around each implant, fusing them to your jaw. This process prevents your implants from slipping, allowing you to bite, chew, and speak confidently.

Why are dental implants better than other restorative options?

Dental implants offer an array of benefits compared to traditional restorations, including crowns and dentures. Some of these benefits include:

• Improved appearance
• Easier eating
• Durability
• Better oral health
• Comfort

Dental implants are also convenient. Removable dentures require the use of sticky and messy adhesives. Dental implants fuse to your jaw, so you don’t have to worry about them sliding around.

What is the success rate of dental implants?

Dental implants have a proven track record of success. There’s always the possibility of implant failure, but if you follow your Safari Dental provider’s instructions carefully, this is highly unlikely. In fact, dental implants, as a whole, have a success rate of approximately 98%. 

Does getting dental implants take a long time?

Getting dental implants is a major investment. The process takes anywhere between six months and a year. Although this may seem like a long time, it’s important to remember that implants can last for decades with proper care.

At your initial consultation, your provider conducts an oral exam, reviews your medical history, and takes a series of oral X-rays. If you have gum disease or low jaw bone volume, your provider might recommend periodontal treatment or a bone graft prior to moving forward with implant placement.  

If your gums are healthy and you have plenty of bone, your provider administers a local anesthetic, numbing your gums and mouth. Once the anesthesia sets in, your provider carefully inserts a series of small posts -- one for each missing tooth. Following surgery, you return home for your mouth to heal. 

Once your mouth heals, you return to Safari Dental. At your second appointment, your provider takes impressions of your remaining teeth and sends them to a laboratory that manufactures your crown(s), bridge, or implant-supported dentures. Your provider also attaches a small metal connector, called an abutment, to each implant.

Several weeks later, you return to Safari Dental for your third and final appointment. At this appointment, your provider attaches your crown(s), bridge, or implant-supported dentures to your implants. You leave the office with a brilliant, attractive smile.

To learn more about the benefits of dental implants, schedule an appointment at Safari Dental. Call the office and speak with a friendly team member or book a consultation online today.