When Getting Dental Implants is a Wise Idea

Dental implants are one way to help resolve the dental issues that adults may struggle with. In fact, it is normal to suffer cavities and an occasional infection throughout your lifetime. However, some adults are more prone to damage, infections, and even tooth loss, than others. Very often, the root cause is genetics. Essentially, people are either born with good teeth or are not. In other cases, things like using an inhaler for asthma can actually cause oral health problems. The same is true for diabetes and taking certain medications.  If you fall in this category, there is a good chance that you are going to be struggling with oral health problems on a regular basis. Eventually, it becomes time to consider whether or not you should continue as is or take more permanent action to resolve the oral health issues.

How You Feel Matters

We like to tell patients that how he or she feels on a daily basis matters a great deal. If you find that your teeth are causing you an incredible amount of pain or discomfort, then it is often wise to consider replacing them. Discomfort to this degree can make it difficult for you to eat what you need to or to speak clearly. It can also have a negative impact on your performance at work or how you behave in social settings. This is understandable when you consider how difficult it can be to do anything when you are in pain.
For this reason, we encourage you to call our office and schedule a consultation when you are experiencing a significant degree of discomfort. This will allow us to examine you and then to determine whether or not replacing some of the teeth with dental implants is the best course of action.

Reasons to Replace Teeth with Dental Implants

• The teeth  are damaged. Dental damage can often be restored using solutions like dental veneers, dental crowns, and even fillings. In most cases, restorative solutions work excellently for solving the problem and eliminating the discomfort. However, when the damage is severe, this may not be enough. At this point, you will need to look for a better solution. Removing the damaged tooth or teeth and replacing them with dental implants may be it. Once a tooth is damaged beyond repair, regular cleaning methods will not be enough.
• The teeth may fall out.  If there is a chance that your teeth are going to fall out because they are already loose or you have severe gum disease, it may be wise for you to schedule an appointment to have them extracted. Instead of waiting for the embarrassing moment when your teeth fall out, you can have them removed in a sterile environment. During this process, we can provide patients with the benefit of anesthesia and schedule the procedure at a time frame that you control.
• Your teeth continue to get infected.  If you are constantly struggling with infection and need root canals on a regular basis, it may be better for you to replace them. We will let you know the best course of action during an examination.

Schedule a Consultation

Remember that you do not have to live with a missing tooth or teeth that are constantly becoming infected. There are options that extend far beyond a dental crown or dentures. You can choose dental implants to give you a new smile that is durable, beautiful, and healthy. To learn more about this solution and to determine if you are a good candidate for dental implants, call our dental office and schedule a consultation today.

Implant Dentist  >  Oral Surgery

Dental Implants vs. Dental Bridges

We can provide you with dental implants or dental bridges to replace your missing teeth. While we provide preventative dental care to help reduce the risk of tooth loss, this is still an issue that many adults deal with on some level. If you have lost a tooth due to age, infection, or an accident, we recommend you take the time to consider all your options. As a cosmetic dentist, there are many ways to replace missing teeth, and it is important to select the option that is right for you. The best way to find out is to schedule a consultation. In the meantime, here is what you need to know:

Dental implants. The most secure and natural-looking solution for tooth loss is dental implants. Unlike a bridge that requires other natural teeth, implants are surgically placed beneath the gums and secured to the jawbone. As a result, no other teeth are required or impacted by the procedure. The new tooth is simultaneously more secure because of the process of osseointegration. This is where the titanium post and jawbone fuse together to create a new root system that will support your new tooth. This makes it possible to eat all your favorite foods and engage in normal activities without restriction. The only drawback to this when compared with a bridge is that since it is surgical, you can expect a longer recovery time. Simultaneously, osseointegration, while important, takes a few months to complete.

Dental bridges. If you want a solution that is more secure and durable than dentures, dental bridges is a good option. A bridge is used for partial tooth loss when there are natural teeth that are strong enough to support it. To complete the procedure, we make an impression of your mouth and take measurements so the dental lab can make your bridge. To secure it in place, a crown will be placed on the two teeth surrounding your missing one, and these crowns will serve as anchors to secure the bridge. As a result, you will have a semi-permanent tooth replacement that looks natural and functions like a natural tooth.

If you are interested in either dental implants or dental bridges, we are an ideal dentist office to visit. As a cosmetic dentist, we can provide you with both solutions and complete the procedure in a way that restores the form and function of your smile. Both of these solutions will look like natural teeth when we are done. This is not always the case with a dental bridge, so it is important to visit a cosmetic dentist who has the skill to create high-quality prosthetics. Both options will also allow you to eat your favorite foods, etc. The main difference is that implants not only replace your teeth, they improve the health of your jawbone by providing it with much-needed stimulation. To learn more, schedule an appointment.

Periodontist  >  Oral Surgery

Find Out if Dental Implants Are Right For You

From a technological standpoint, dental implants have completely changed the way we all look at tooth loss. There was time, not so long ago when the loss of a tooth meant the prospect of having to deal with things like dentures or even dental bridges. By creating a system that not only replaces the surface tooth, also known as the crown but also the lost root itself, dental implants have brought stability and longevity to tooth replacement. As with any technological advancement, the rise of dental implants in popularity has also given rise to questions from patients. Everybody wants to know if they work (yes), what the procedure is to get them, and if you as an individual qualify to get dental implants. The answer to the final question is also yes, but there are certain requirements you will need to meet in order to ensure you are healthy enough to sustain an implant. To make sure that you are indeed healthy enough and that your mouth can support an implant, we will do an extensive examination. There are a few conditions that may preclude you temporarily or permanently from getting a dental implant. Some of these are found in people with out-of-control diabetes, patients who have cancer and are seeking active radiation treatment, dental patients with untreated periodontal disease, and even patients who have a severe addiction to cigarettes or alcohol. All of these make it so there is an increased risk of the implant not taking, that the body will not adhere to the implant, and thus, the operation will not be as successful as it should be.

Dental implants are successful. There is no question about that, with some studies even placing the success rate of dental implants around 98 percent, though we prefer a more conservative estimate of 94 percent. The reason why implants are so wildly effective is the care we take before we ever start you down the road to getting implants. For every patient who comes in wanting implants, we will start by making sure your jaw has the capacity to withstand and even sustain these implants. To do this, we will begin with a full examination that includes x-rays and a CT scan. This use of dental imaging gives us a clear understanding of the capacity of your jaw and whether or not you need a bone graft to stabilize the jawbone for the implant.

For some patients who have the required density, we can proceed directly to the implant phase, which is known as immediate implant placement. For others, the process may take a little longer, as we will need to perform an alveolar bone graft that targets the upper portion of the jawbone where the teeth are typically located. Using an onlay bone graft, we are able to create a block of bone into which the implant is placed, giving the implant the stability it needs from the bone itself. Healing time is usually around six months between the graft and the date when we can start with the actual implant procedure.

Cosmetic Dentist  >  Oral Surgery

Why You Should Get Dental Implants from a Specialist in Periodontics and Implantology

Dr. Pechak is a local periodontist that is an expert at dental implants. What many people don’t understand is that while many dentists conduct the dental implants procedure, they are not experts at it.  A regular dentist is not trained in matters of oral surgery.  They have graduated from dental school and are skilled in many types of procedures, but the majority of surgical training they have would come from on the job experience rather than from dental school.

In order to gain the knowledge and additional skills necessary to become an expert at installing dental implants, the dentist needs to have an additional three years of schooling.  This takes a desire and commitment to become a true expert at performing oral surgeries.  Just like a doctor goes to medical school in order to practice medicine, they don’t perform surgeries until they have gone through additional training.  Most people wouldn’t allow a general doctor to operate on them and in the same way we recommend that you don’t get your gums operated on by someone that hasn’t gone through the additional schooling.

Becoming certified as a periodontist and implant specialist requires completing the three years of schooling and going through the licensing process, something Dr. Pechak has done.  If your dentist suggests that you use dental implants in order to replace your missing teeth, we recommend that you speak with a periodontist prior to scheduling the procedure.  This way you can consult with an expert and make an informed decision about which provider you want to complete the procedure.

Only around five percent of general dentists have had the additional training and experience to make them as good as a prosthodontist.  This means that your procedure is more likely to have complications or an increased recovery time than if you go to an expert to have the process completed.

When you get dental implants, there are several stages to the process.  An impression of your mouth will be taken so that the new tooth can be created in a dental lab to match the size and shape of your other teeth.  This way it will blend in and look natural.  Before getting started, we will make sure that your gums are healthy enough for the procedure.  If not, we can treat your gums in order to remove any infection.

Next, we will implant a metal post under the gums and secure it to the jawbone.  This is the surgical step in the process and must be done carefully to ensure that the gums can heal quickly.  Over the course of a couple of months, the metal post and jawbone will fuse together. This creates a strong synthetic root system that is as sturdy as a natural tooth would be.  Once ready, we will then secure the new synthetic tooth to the metal post.  The result is a tooth that looks and feels natural.  The process uses advance dental techniques and as a periodontist, Dr. Pechak can ensure that your dental implants will look and feel amazing. 

The Perio & Implant Center Provides Dental Implants for Busy Lifestyles

At the Perio & Implant Center we provide dental implants for patients that are looking to replace one or several teeth and want to maintain their active and busy lifestyle. Tooth loss is incredibly common.  It impacts around 70% of the U.S. adult population, leaving many people to look for both temporary and permanent solutions for replacing missing teeth.

Dentures have been a common solution for hundreds of years.  Even George Washington wore dentures and thankfully they have improved over time.  They are more comfortable than ever before, but the challenge is that dentures do not feel like natural teeth.  No matter how comfortable they are, it is still a foreign object being put inside of your mouth and will often feel heavy and make it difficult to speak like normal.  A partial set can be used to replace one or several teeth instead of all of them.  Still, they are not permanently attached and could become loose.  This is not conducive for people with an active and busy lifestyle that want to maintain it.

Dental implants have made it possible to replace a missing tooth and have it feel completely natural after the fact.  This is a major improvement and the latest in dental technology.  Here is how the procedure works:

1. A metal post is implanted.  The oral surgeon places the post underneath the gums and secures it to the jawbone.  This step makes it possible for the new tooth to stand on its own without requiring support from the surrounding teeth.  Once the metal post and jawbone have fused together, it will create a synthetic root system that is as strong as a natural one.
2. The new tooth is created.  A mold is made of a patient’s mouth so that the lab can create a new-synthetic tooth in the right size, color, and shape. This ensures that the new tooth will blend in with the surrounding ones.  The goal is for the new tooth or teeth to look completely natural.
3. Tooth is attached.  After the healing process is complete, the new tooth will be secured to the metal post and positioned perfectly so that it is straight and beautiful.

The entire process takes longer than many other types of procedures because dental implants are a permanent solution to replacing missing teeth, not a temporary one.  By building in a root system, the Perio & Implant Center provides patients with new teeth that are as durable and secure as the ones they were born with.  This allows patients to enjoy life fully and without constraint.  Since the new tooth is strong, patients can eat all of their favorite foods without fear of it becoming loose or falling out.  Additionally, it is easy to speak clearly and naturally since there are no foreign objects to get used to.  This is important for people that have a busy lifestyle and no time to retrain their speech to accommodate a pair of dentures.

To learn more about this procedure, call and schedule an appointment today.

Should You Get Dental Implants?

To improve your smile, try dental implants.  They can give you the smile you have always wanted, one that is bright and beautiful. Dentists that specialize in this procedure are able to transform smiles using long lasting implants.  Before you decide to have the procedure, it is important to consider all options and discuss with your dentist whether or not implants are right for you.

Why do you want implants?

If you are simply looking to brighten your smile, laser teeth whitening is the first and best solution.  We can perform this treatment in our office in under an hour. Your teeth will instantly be several shades whiter and help you to look younger and more refreshed.

If your teeth have stains that won’t come out, are uneven, or chipped, veneers are an ideal solution.  They are essentially customized fronts to your existing teeth.  The dentist has perfectly shaped, and colored veneers made that are then glued to the front of you teeth.  This is a much faster process than dental implants.

If, however, you suffer from missing teeth, diseased teeth, severely damaged teeth, or crooked teeth, dental implants may be the most effective treatments.  These implants completely replace your existing tooth.  You can replace one, several, or all of your teeth using implants. 

How are dental implants installed?

This is a multi-step process.  Your dentist will remove your existing tooth (unless it has already fallen out) then install a metal piece under your gum line that is attached to your jaw bone.  Over the period of several months, it will become secure enough for a second metal piece to be attached to it that will serve as an anchor for your synthetic tooth. 

The dental lab will create your new teeth, and they will be carefully attached to the metal posts that have been implanted into your mouth.  This process can take up to one year. 

The reason it is so effective is that the metal piece serves as the root structure.  With its being anchored to bone, implants are extremely sturdy, enabling patients to eat and behave like normal.  This is an important treatment option for patients that have lost teeth as implants can restore their speech, ability to eat, and self confidence.

Caring for implants

It is extremely important to take care of your dental implants by practicing good oral hygiene.  Regularly brushing and flossing your teeth will help you to avoid any future infection.  It is also wise to use an antibacterial mouth wash or gargle with a water and baking soda mixture. There is a risk of infection with any procedure and the best way to avoid one is to keep your mouth clean and germ free.

Dental implants give patients the freedom to enjoy life without worrying about their teeth.  Things like dentures will help those that have lost teeth, but they can be uncomfortable to wear, difficult to clean, and lead to additional disease.  This can be avoided with professionally implanted synthetic teeth.  Dr. Pechak is an expert at implant dentistry and able to provide patients with the care and results they are looking for.