Many patients think of tooth loss as the worst possible thing that can happen to your smile. However, the effects of tooth loss echo far beyond aesthetics, leading to severe oral health complications later down the line. Bones act very similarly to the muscles in your body. When a muscle is exercised, it remains strong and functional. When a muscle loses that stimulation, it can become weak and atrophy. The same can be said for your bones. Your teeth provide the physical stimulation your jawbone needs to remain strong and avoid deterioration. After you lose a tooth, your bone loses this stimulation. Over time, your jawbone will atrophy, leading to a saggy facial appearance and an inability to support future restorations. Luckily, we have dental implants.

Dental implants are tiny titanium screws that are surgically implanted below the gum tissue and into the jawbone. After the implant is placed, Dr. Kevin Pollock will give you a set of post-operative instructions. For the next several months, your implant and bone will fuse together through the process of osseointegration. Once the implant and bone have properly healed, we can place the abutment. An abutment is a support structure that links the implant to a restoration. Implants can be used to support a single crown, fixed bridge, or an entire arch of prosthetic teeth. Talk with Dr. Kevin Pollock to see which restoration is right for you!

Osseointegration is largely responsible for the many benefits of dental implants. Because the implant fuses to the bone, your jaw receives the necessary stimulation it needs to remain healthy. This eliminates the future complications of bone deterioration. It also provides the sturdy foundation that has help dental implants become the ideal restoration for tooth replacement. Implants are so durable that they can support even the strongest bite forces. This means you can treat your implants just like your natural teeth. You will be able to eat, speak, and smile with confidence and comfort. Implant-supported restorations also offer superior esthetics. In short, dental implants are the next best thing to your natural teeth!

Most patients who are in relatively good oral and overall health will qualify for dental implants. To receive a dental implant, you must have an adequate amount of bone in the jaw. Osseointegration will fail if the bone is too thin or too soft to support an implant, which is why it is important to treat tooth loss as soon as possible. If tooth loss is left untreated for an extended period, you may not have a sufficient amount of bone. To determine if you are a suitable candidate, Dr. Kevin Pollock will perform a comprehensive exam and take a series of X-rays, photos, and CBCT scans. For patients with bone deterioration, a grafting procedure may be necessary.

The discomfort dentures cause can create damage in the mouth and irritation to the gums. They also move and slide around frequently. This can be embarrassing and also quite uncomfortable. Tooth replacement options that sit on the gums’ surface rather than in the bone actually cause bone loss over time.

With strict cleaning solutions and guidelines for patients to follow, dentures require much more care. When compared to temporary tooth-replacement options, implant-based options are an absolute improvement. They are a natural looking option that is very comfortable, will not shift or slide, and act in just the same way as a real tooth. Additionally, Their permanence means that they can last a lifetime if properly cared for.

This option is much easier to clean as you can care for them in much the same way as you would the teeth you have now. Finally, because they sit within your jawbone rather than on the surface of your gums, they stimulate your jaw to keep growing and to remain strong just as a natural tooth root would, eliminating bone loss!

A ridge deficiency can prevent a patient from receiving a dental implant. Ridge deficiencies may be caused by developmental defects, lack of preservation, trauma to the face, denture use, or periodontal disease. The loss of bone will leave your jaw in a condition which may be inadequate for the placement of dental implants, dentures, or bridges. At Rockwall Oral Surgery, we perform a surgical procedure, known as a ridge augmentation, to improve the shape and size of the alveolar ridge. A ridge augmentation is an excellent way to halt the process of bone deterioration and prepare a patient for dental implant surgery.

At Rockwall Oral Surgery, we focus on providing the very best service for our patients. From start to finish, we use the latest technology and techniques to deliver a cutting-edge experience and outstanding results. During the process, we may use a 3D Cone Beam scan to get an incredibly detailed look at your tissue and bone. We may use an intraoral camera to create a digital and impeccable model of your mouth. Moreover, we may use platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to drastically accelerate your healing rate.

Dental implants are, without a doubt, the best way to restore missing teeth. Implant-supported restorations provide unmatched stability, durability, and comfort. Many of these benefits are a direct result of a biological process, known as osseointegration. During osseointegration, the implant screw and your jawbone fuse together to create a powerful bond. It is also the reason implants have a 95-98% success rate. However, for an implant to be successful, there must be an adequate bone quality and quantity. At Rockwall Oral Surgery, our mission is to provide safe and effective solutions to all of our patients. If your bone is too thin or too soft to keep an implant in place, we will typically recommend bone grafting. Bone grafting is an excellent way to foster bone growth and establish a strong foundation for a dental implant.

A single tooth replacement is made to replace one missing tooth. It consists of three parts, the implant, a titanium rod that is surgically implanted into your jawbone, the abutment, and the crown. The success of your replacement relies heavily upon the fusion of your jawbone to the rod. When healed, the rod becomes almost like a tooth root, holding your new tooth securely in place. The implant offers several benefits. It preserves the form of the adjacent teeth, eliminating the need to remove perfectly healthy enamel. It also preserves the integrity of your jawbone, keeping it strong and stable. This is possible because of the implant in your jawbone, which stimulates your jaw, much like the root of a natural tooth would do.

Utilizing multiple dental implants allows you to customize the kind of restoration you want, whether that is multiple dental implants, a fixed implant bridge, or an implant-secured denture. We will work with you to determine the best solution for your situation. The exact number of implants depends on several factors, including the health of your jaw and the number of missing teeth. The process to get your final replacement teeth can take several weeks, as your bone heals around the implants. You are provided with a temporary restoration in the meantime, which provides you with some restored abilities of your mouth. Once you have fully healed, abutments are placed on the exposed ends of the implants. Molds are taken of your mouth and used to fabricate your permanent restoration. The teeth can be finished and polished to perfectly imitate your natural teeth.

Typically, with dental implants, when you are missing all of your teeth in a single arch (or both of them), 6 to 8 implants are inserted per jaw. However, if your jawbone lacks sufficient mass, it cannot successfully support this many implants. Moreover, if one implant fails, the integrity of your replacement teeth is put at risk. This is where the All on 4® treatment concept comes into play. Instead of the usual six to eight implants used, the All-on-4® Treatment Concept utilizes only four implants per jaw. The implants are placed strategically to maximize strength and support. Two implants are placed at the front of the jaw, inserted straight upward. The other two implants are placed toward the back of either side of the jaw and inserted at a 45-degree angle. Once you have healed from surgery, your permanent teeth are affixed to the implants, and you are left with a full, beautiful, natural smile.

When we say that titanium is biocompatible, what are we talking about? .When something is said to be biocompatible, it means that it is not harmful to living tissue, in this case, to the human body. In the 1950’s, titanium was found to be a biocompatible material, that was readily accepted by the human body. Normally, when a foreign substance enters or is placed in the human body, the body responds by trying to remove the foreign material. Take a sliver, one of the more common examples of foreign objects finding their way into the body when you are handling wood without gloves. When you get a splinter, the site will often become red, swollen and irritated. The body does this to encourage the expulsion of the splinter. If this fails, eventually the body will begin producing pus, and a small infection will form around the splinter. The body will try to break down and remove any material that it does not recognize – unless it’s a biocompatible material.

Osseointegration is the reason that dental implants are successful in replacing missing teeth. Osseointegration describes the process of the bone in your jaw healing around the dental implant post. We will surgically place the dental implant post into your jaw bone, and give it some time, usually several months, to recover and heal. During this time the bone in your jaw will grow around the titanium post. As the bone grows around the post, it will begin to make contact with all of the crevices and footholds in the threading of the post, which will eventually make the post mechanically connected to the bone in your jaw. The result is a tooth replacement that is quite stable and reliable.

There is archeological evidence that humans have been attempting to replace missing teeth with implants since ancient China, dating back about 4000 years! Archeologists found remains with carved bamboo pegs, positioned into the jawbone, to replace missing teeth. In Egypt, 2000-year-old remains have been found with similar pegs made out of precious metals, like copper. Believe it or not, some mummies have even been found with transplanted human teeth, and in other cases, teeth made from ivory. While the copper pegs may have been placed after death, they serve as the first recorded case of metal root replacements.

There is also evidence from 2000 years ago that people would often try to replace missing teeth with teeth bought from other people, or animal ones. Replacement teeth from another living subject are likely to become infected and rejected by the host. Implants received from an animal are classified as a heteroplastic, and those from another human are known as homoplastic. In 1931, an explorer named Wilson Popenoe, and his wife, found the remains of a young Mayan woman at an archeological site in Honduras. In the lower mandible jaw, they found three pieces of shell, shaped to resemble teeth, which filled the space of missing incisors. The shells not only had bone growth around the roots, but there was also calculus formations. These are indicators that the shells were both esthetically-pleasing and functional!

In the 1950s, researchers at Cambridge University devised a method of successfully embedding titanium into soft tissue. In 1952, Swedish orthopedic surgeon Per-Ingvar Brånemark used this research to test his theories on bone regeneration. During his research, Brånemark observed that titanium had unique properties that allowed the living bone to effectively adhere to the metal. Today, the process of fusion between a titanium implant and bone is known as osseointegration. In 1965, Brånemark placed his first titanium dental implant into a human subject. This was a pivotal moment in dental history. Over the next several years, Brånemark’s published studies and performed experiments to further prove his theories. By the 1980s, dental implants had become a well-known solution for tooth replacement treatment.

Today’s dental implants consist of a titanium screw (similar to a tooth root), an abutment (support structure), and a restoration (prosthetic tooth). New technologies and techniques have led to the advent of implant-supported crowns, bridges, and full mouth restorations. The latter has essentially made dentures obsolete. With a success rate of nearly 98%, it’s no wonder why dental implants have become the industry standard for tooth replacement!

To learn more about why to choose dental implants, visit The Dental Implant Guide.