9 common questions about dental implants
When you’re considering dental implants, it’s common to have questions. We’ve rounded up some of the most frequently asked questions, as well as answers.
1. What are dental implants?
Dental implants are medical grade hollow titanium screws that are screwed into the bone, so the bone can harden around the implant. This mimics the root of the tooth that was lost. Once the single implant has fused to bone, a post and crown can be screwed into the implant (artificial root) to allow normal chewing to take place. For front implant crowns, it is very important that the gum is carefully molded around the implant so a precisely-made crown can look like it naturally comes out of the gum.
2. Are veneers dental implants?
No, veneers are tiny partial coverings that fit over and are bonded to the front part on the front teeth. These are not as strong as crowns. The analogy is when you picture fake fingernails on your hands that are adhered to your natural fingernails.
3 . How do dental implants work?
When you’re missing a tooth, an artificial root is placed in the jaw, followed by a post, followed by a crown that is cemented on top of the post. Dental implants are hollow medical grade titanium screws that are screwed into the jaw bone. After a one-three month waiting period, a dental post and realistic looking crown is then screwed into the implant. The crown you have should look and feel like a normal, natural tooth.
4. How do dental implants feel?
Dental implant crowns should look and feel like normal natural teeth. If this is not the case, there are a few easy fixes to the crown, not the root implant, that will correct the problem. A dentist just needs to be knowledgable to know what fixes to use.
5. Who puts in dental implants?
Any licensed dentist can legally place implants. Gordon Center for General and Advanced Dentistry prefers to have only experienced Oral Surgeons or Periodontal specialists place implants in your mouth. These specialists place between 250 and 600 implants per year. Dr. Leonard Gordon has been successfully placing crowns on multi-generational implants for more than 35 years. He was one of the first in the Gaithersburg dentists to do so. Dr. David Gordon has been successfully placing crowns on implants for more than 10 years. Their success rate for the crowned implants is about 99%.
6. How long do dental implants last?
Dental implants should last the life of the patient. Many factors affect this statistic including if the patient properly brushes and flosses around the implant. Drs. Gordon use only FDA-approved parts, including some of the latest advances that are available to their patients due to their continual updating. Dr. Leonard Gordon lectures nationally to other dentists around the country about these changes. Dr. David Gordon uses this knowledge, and both maintain a close relationship with one of the premier dental national labs and the associated implant companies.
7. Are dental implants permanent?
Legally, a dentist should refrain from using the word permanent in any procedure done in dentistry. Drs. Leonard and David Gordon have a greater than 99% success rate following implants for 10 or more years
8. Are dental implants worth it?
“Worth it” depends on each person’s thought process. If you would prefer to have a single front tooth implant instead of a removable flipper or cutting down healthy teeth on either side for a single replacement crown fixed bridge, then it’s worth it. Along those lines, if you’d prefer to have all-on-4 dental implants so you can eat whatever you want, as opposed to an option that requires you to eat a soft food diet or wear a possibly embarrassing denture, then it’s worth it.
9. Are dental implants painful?
Most people would have a dental implant placed one day and be back to work the next day. Only Ibuprofen or Tylenol would be necessary.
If you have additional questions, please feel free to call the office at (301)-258-1998 or click to schedule an appointment.
