Dental Implants – Corpus Christi, TX

Day-to-Day Benefits

• Ability to eat the foods you love - Dental implants are permanently anchored to your jaw. That means that, unlike traditional dentures, you won’t have to worry about your new teeth slipping when you’re trying to eat and speak.
• Reduced risk of tooth decay & gum disease – Instead of worrying about cleaning a separate prosthetic, you can clean your dental implants using the same oral hygiene products. The only difference is to use non-abrasive toothpaste, as this will avoid scratches to your restorations.
• Create a more youthful appearance – Because of how dental implants fit within the bone structure, they offer continuous stimulation to prevent facial sagging. This, as a result, helps to keep your smile and face more youthful over time.

Health Benefits

• Your healthy teeth remain in place – When tooth loss occurs, nearby healthy teeth may try to shift to cover the space. However, dental implants help to avoid the potential of dental drift and the possibility of future orthodontic treatment.
• Continuous jawbone stimulation – Since the implants are inserted directly into your jawbone, they can provide the stimulation that normally comes from your natural teeth. This lowers the risk of bone loss and helps you maintain a stronger, healthier jaw.
• No need for tooth altering – An implant dentist will only work within your gums and jawbone, never will they touch healthy teeth. Fixed bridges may require altering abutment teeth to serve as anchors for the prosthetic, but dental implants allow you to keep more of your natural smile.

Long-Term Benefits

• Proven success rate – Patients who are leery about the success of dental implant placement will be pleased to learn that when placed by a skilled professional, these prosthetics have a 90-95% success rate upon initial placement.
• Can last for decades – Dental implants can last for decades – or even the rest of a patient’s life – with minimal maintenance.
• You can save money – Any type of tooth replacement will be costly; however, if you want to save more in the long run, there’s no better option than dental implants. As a cost-effective investment, you can avoid the high cost of denture adhesives over time as well as frequent replacements and adjustments.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

If you are a healthy adult, there is a good chance that dental implants will work for you! Here are the three main things we consider when determining if you are a good candidate for the procedure:

• Good Overall Health: Placing dental implants requires a surgical procedure, so you need to be in good enough health to undergo minor surgery. 
• Great Oral Health: If you have an issue like a cavity or gum disease, your dental implants are more likely to fail, so they’ll need to be addressed first.
• Adequate Jawbone Density: You need to have a strong jawbone to support dental implants for your treatment to be successful. 

If you don’t make a good candidate for dental implants right away, don’t fret. They could still be an option for you in the future. Many patients end up needing to complete preliminary treatments, like extractions, gum disease therapy, or bone grafting, before getting dental implants. We can help to schedule these procedures to get you on track towards restoring your smile.

Missing One Tooth

One dental implant post can be placed in the gap left by a missing tooth. Once the area around it has healed, it can support a dental crown that has been personalized to blend in with the rest of the patient’s smile. Implant crowns are often recommended over traditional bridges because they don’t require the removal of enamel.

Missing Multiple Teeth

When three or more teeth in a row are missing, they can be replaced simultaneously with two implant posts and a bridge. The crowns at either end of the bridge will rest on the implant posts while the pontics (false teeth) between them fill in the rest of the gap.

Missing All Teeth

When all of the teeth in a single arch are missing, there’s no need to get a dental implant post for each of them. Four to six implants can be placed throughout the jaw to support a full set of new teeth. Unlike traditional dentures, an implant denture can be designed to stay in the mouth permanently, letting you brush and floss your new teeth like you would your original ones.

Alternatively, you may be a candidate for All-On-4 dental implants! This method is ideal for patients who have inadequate jawbone density. As the name implies, this option anchors a full denture securely in place with just four strategically placed dental implants. 

Learn More About All-On-4 Dental Implants Learn More About Implant Dentures

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

True enough, implants are cavity-proof – their materials don’t erode like enamel. Still, the fact is that you should clean them daily. Failing to do so will lead to long-term problems.

Implants don’t exist in isolation; they’re set next to your natural teeth and gums. As a result, they can be affected by nearby oral issues. Should you get gum disease, the resulting gum recession could loosen your implant. It’d then erode the bone tissue supporting the prosthetic.

Thankfully, you can avoid such implant threats with proper oral hygiene. In particular, just brush twice daily, floss once daily, and rinse with mouthwash often.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Implants generally let you eat as you please, but they still have limits. They’ll last longer if you stick to a mouth-healthy diet.

The truth is that some foods are risky for implants. For example, hard foods like pretzels and nuts can chip them. Meanwhile, sticky and sugary things can wedge between implants and decay nearby teeth. These items would then cause oral issues known to trigger implant failure.

In contrast, foods with mouth-healthy nutrients help implants endure. Products with calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin C, especially, will prevent gum disease and strengthen your jaw.

Break Bad Habits

While implants are durable, bad oral habits can cause them to break or fail. As such, you should quit such practices before or soon after treatment.

Take smoking, for instance. Tobacco slows your recovery from implant surgery. It also encourages gum disease, which can trigger implant failure. So, stop this habit at least two weeks before implant placement.

Another habit to quit is chewing hard objects. The action can chip your implants, whether you’re biting a pencil, ice cubes, or your fingernails.

Protect Your Dental Implants

Implants can endure a lot. Still, they aren’t indestructible; they can and will get damaged with enough force. Therefore, protect them with good dental tools.

The best approach for this protection is to wear an oral appliance. With a sports mouthguard, you could protect your restoration from sports-related injuries.  Meanwhile, using a nightguard while you sleep would prevent wear and tear from bruxism.

Schedule Regular Dental Checkups

However careful you are, you can’t care for implants alone. There will inevitably be issues you miss. So, try to attend dental checkups and cleanings every six months. Professional care will offer further protection.

Don’t forget: checkups and cleanings stop threats to your implants. After all, they assess your mouth and treat minor issues before they worsen. In doing so, they keep your implants safe.