Dental implants are now considered the number one choice to replace missing teeth. With nearly a 98% success rate, dental implants offer a permanent and secure missing teeth treatment option. There are many benefits of dental implant including full chewing function, replaces missing teeth at the root, will not slip, and they offer full chewing function. The procedure for dental implants requires multiple visits over several months.
Beaufort, SC dentists Dr. Ashley Covington or Dr. Perry DuRant, can use dental implants to replace one missing tooth, several missing teeth, or all of your teeth. Dental implants are capped with a dental restoration that is custom fit to your smile. Dental restorations now use the latest in dental materials for a natural looking tooth replacement. The entire implant procedure usually takes six to eight months, and most patients don’t experience a disruption to their daily lives.
About the Dental Implant Procedure
During a comprehensive evaluation, Beaufort, SC dentists Drs. Covington or Dr. DuRant will thoroughly evaluate your mouth, teeth, gums, and overall health to make sure dental implants are a good fit for you. A personalized dental implant treatment plan will be created detailing every step of your implant procedure.
Some patients may need to undergo treatments to correct dental concerns before moving on to the surgical implantation. The purpose here is to create an environment that is healthy so that your implants can properly heal. For example, a patient that is diagnosed with periodontal disease will need to undergo treatment before their implantation surgery.
We will coordinate the surgical phase of your implant procedure with a local oral surgeon who will perform the implantation of the implants post(s). Our dentists only work with the leading oral surgeons and periodontists in the area. The implants will need about 3-6 months to fully heal and fuse with the surrounding jaw bone. During this time a temporary dental restoration may be placed depending on the location of your missing teeth.
Depending on the type of implant you are receiving, at the second visit an abutment will be attached to the post. This will serve to secure the final restoration and will need to heal before the final step.
Once the dental implant has healed and integrated with the surrounding bone, an abutment will be placed on the implanted post. This will serve as a foundation for the placement of the prosthetic tooth.
At your next appointment, we will take impressions of your teeth and mouth that will be used to fabricate your dental restoration. At your last appointment, you dentist will place the final restoration in our Lady’s Island dentist office.
If you have only one missing tooth, we will attach the custom dental crown to the single implant. If you have several consecutive missing teeth, we will attach a dental bridge to the two or more implants. If you are missing most or all of your teeth, we will attach your new implant denture.
Dental implants can be cared for just like natural teeth with daily brushing, flossing and routine dental visits to ensure oral health.