Dental Implants – Porter, TX
A New Smile that Feels Natural
When it comes to tooth replacement, dental implants are truly in a class of their own. They are the only treatment that replaced the roots of a missing tooth or teeth as well as the visible portion. Recreating the entire structure of a missing tooth like this offers unmatched functionality, longevity, and comfort, giving you a new smile that feels just like natural. If you’re ready to replace your missing teeth with the next best thing, give us a call today to schedule your consultation to discuss tooth replacement with dental implants in Porter, TX.
Why Choose Gilbert C. Price, DDS For Dental Implants?
- Dr. Price Can Perform Entire Dental Implant Treatment Personally
- Permanently Replace Any Number of Missing Teeth
- Reasonable, Fair Prices and Financing Options Through CareCredit
What Are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is a small titanium post. It can be inserted directly into the jawbone via a surgical procedure to mimic the roots of a missing tooth. Once in place, the dental implant fuses with the surrounding bone tissue to essentially become a part of the jaw. This provides a strong, stable foundation for a variety of different types of replacement teeth, including crowns, bridges, or dentures. These restorations are crafted from high-quality materials and custom-made in order to blend in seamlessly with the rest of your teeth.
Dental implant treatment is the only way to replace the roots of missing teeth. Rebuilding missing teeth from the roots up will give you a smile that looks, feels, and functions just like natural while preventing all the issues that come with tooth loss and other tooth replacement options. That’s why dental implants are widely considered by both patients and dentists alike to be the gold standard of tooth replacement.
The 4 Step Dental Implant Process
Getting dental implants requires a multi-step process that spans several months. While this may sound somewhat intimidating or overwhelming at first, rest assured that we’ll be with you every step of the way. While other dental offices need to refer out their patients for part of dental implant treatment, Dr. Price has the advanced training and experience needed to seamlessly perform each step of your treatment right here in our Porter dental office. During your consultation, he’ll walk you through your entire treatment place step-by-step, so you’ll know exactly what to expect. Generally, there are four main stages of dental implant treatment: consultation, surgery, osseointegration, and placement of final restorations.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
Many people who have lost one or more teeth are candidates for dental implants if they have good oral and general health; however, you’ll still need a consultation to make sure they are right for you. Besides a visual examination, Dr. Price will also need a CT scan to look for any potential complications that may be brewing beneath the surface, like low bone density or an infection. Based on the results of the examination, you may need additional treatments before undergoing your implant placement procedure, like periodontal therapy or bone grafting.
Dental Implant Surgery
After you’ve healed from any previous treatments, you will be scheduled for your placement surgery. Dr. Price is specially trained and qualified to handle this portion of the dental implant process in Porter, so you can rest assured your smile is in good hands.
A CT scan is used to pinpoint the precise locations within the jawbone to place your implant posts. Sedation or anesthesia is used to ensure your comfort as your gum tissues is opened to expose your jawbone. Then, the dental implants are placed into the pre-determined areas. Finally, your gum tissue is stitched closed and a protective cap is placed over the implant. Then, the healing process can begin.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement
The implant posts serve as new tooth roots. As a result, they will stimulate your jawbone to encourage new bone growth. Over the next several months, your jaw fuses to the posts through a process called osseointegration. This provides a stable foundation for your restoration while also allowing the dental implants to potentially last forever.
After your jawbone has healed, you’ll need a second minor surgery to attach abutments to each post. The special fixtures are connector pieces between your posts and restoration. Your gum tissue will heal around them to create a natural-looking gum line.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
After your abutments are placed, an impression of your mouth is taken to design your restoration. Your restoration will vary depending on how many teeth you’re missing. The dental lab uses all-ceramic material to fabricate a crown, bridge, or denture that matches the appearance of your natural teeth. They will blend in seamlessly, so you can smile confidently. Not only will they look great, but they will closely function just like your own teeth.
Benefits of Dental Implants
We love offering our patients a tooth loss solution that benefits their oral health and overall well-being in so many ways, including:
- Incredibly natural look, feel, and function
- Total tooth replacement, which prevents bone loss and maintains the facial structure
- A success rate of over 95% in non-smokers
- Doesn’t affect healthy teeth like a dental bridge would
- Longevity – implants can last many decades
- Enables you to eat hard, tough, or crunchy foods
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Another big advantage of dental implants in Porter is that they can be customized to your situation. Whether you’re missing one tooth, several teeth, or all of your teeth, we can use implants as a solution. However, although implants have an incredibly high success rate, we still want to make sure they’ll be successful for you, so we always start with a thorough evaluation to make sure you’re a good candidate.
Missing 1 Tooth
Missing just one tooth is a common situation and an implant works wonderfully. In this case, a single implant is simply restored with a dental crown, which is matched to the rest of your smile so that it looks very natural.
Missing Multiple Teeth
If you’re missing more than one tooth, just 1-2 implants can be used to anchor a dental bridge and replace several teeth at once. You’ll get much better strength, stability, and chewing power this way than you would with a traditional partial denture.
Missing All Teeth
Missing all your teeth in the upper or lower arch? Our patients love the option of an implant denture because it dramatically improves the fit and function of these traditional restorations, maintains their jawbone over time, and eliminates the need for adhesive.
Learn More About Implant Dentures
Missing Teeth with Low Jawbone Density
In order to get dental implants, a patient must have an adequate amount of healthy jawbone in order to safely support the new roots, and this is not always the case for someone who has been missing teeth for a long time, as bone loss is very common after tooth loss. Thankfully, mini dental implants can help people in this situation because they are shorter and thinner than traditional ones. They can still be used to support a denture that has a much stronger hold than a regular one and, due to their reduced size, they often can be placed and restored in less time as well.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Because the treatment is custom-tailored to meet each patient’s individual needs, there’s no set cost of dental implants in Porter. Instead, Dr. Gilbert Price will examine your tooth loss situation and draw up a treatment plan and timeline for you so you know exactly what to expect throughout the process. There are several different parts to this treatment, which all incur separate fees and make it easier to budget for. Countless patients who receive this tooth loss remedy will agree that the lifelong investment in their health and wellbeing is definitely worth it!
Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery
In some cases, patients who have underlying oral issues, like jawbone deterioration or gum disease, may require preliminary treatments. These include a bone graft, sinus lift, tooth extraction, or periodontal therapy. Each preliminary treatment will add to the overall cost of the process, but the long-term benefits of making sure that the foundation of your smile is healthy and strong are priceless and can ensure that your dental implants in Porter last longer.
The implant surgery also incurs a separate price that will be factored into the estimate provided to you at your initial consultation. Some factors that can affect the cost of your implant placement are whether you require sedation and where the implants will be placed. Since Dr. Price has advanced training that allows him to conduct the entire process in-office, you won’t need to worry about visiting a separate specialist for your surgery.
The Parts of Your Dental Implant
There are a few different additional factors that can affect the cost of your treatment, including:
- The number of implants that you need to have placed. For a single tooth, you’ll need one, for consecutive missing teeth, two, and for an entire denture, anywhere from four to eight.
- The type of restoration that you need to restore your smile. Dental implants can secure a crown, bridge, partial denture, or full denture.
- The materials that your dental implants are made from. In some cases, you may be able to choose between titanium and zirconia dental implants.
- The brand, or the manufacturer of your dental implants. Just like cars, there are different brands of dental implants that are made to fit various patients’ needs.
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
Unfortunately, it’s rarely if ever the case that dental implants are covered by dental insurance. However, certain parts of the procedure, such as the restoration, may be partially covered by your benefits. Our team is happy to file claims for our patients to help them maximize their coverage and get the most out of their investment.
Making Dental Implants More Affordable
In addition to dental insurance, your implant dentist in Porter, Dr. Price, also offers additional financing through CareCredit, which is a trusted, third-party financer who offers flexible monthly payment plans at little to no interest upon approval. If you need help applying or would like to learn more, don’t hesitate to contact our team.