Settling on a dental implant placement is one of the best choices to replace any lost teeth. While several other methods are available, a single tooth replacement is the most efficient treatment that will guarantee a stress-free recovery period. Additionally, opting for a single tooth dental implant in place of other options like dental bridges will save you the cost of constant repairs and replacements. Not only does a dental implant guarantee longevity in serving its purpose, but it also causes minimal problems to the surrounding teeth. This way, you do not have to worry about any consequent dental issues related to a tooth replacement.

Often, many patients report failed surgical procedures that end up raising several periodontal complications in the long run. Most of these problems are avoidable by choosing the right dental clinic for you. Receiving proper dental implant treatment requires visiting an able dentist who has a wealth of experience in specialized dental implant procedures to prevent any future mishaps with your dental and overall health. We at La Puente Dental Implant Center have worked for years to offer top-notch dental implant services to patients in La Puente, California. We believe in providing unproblematic treatment options that will bring you minimum discomfort while delivering long-lasting results.

Understanding Dental Implants

For a single tooth replacement procedure, we will bring up the option of dental implants to the table as the best choice for you. To get a better understanding of how a single tooth replacement procedure will occur, you need to understand the structure and parts of dental implants. This way, you will have no doubts about the multiple-stage treatment you will receive as you await your fully fixed dental implant.

The basic structure of a dental implant involves three independent parts that all have different roles. A dental implant is a metallic rod that fits into your jawbone to act as a replacement for the root of the lost tooth. The space it occupies in your jawbone tissue also serves as the anchor to support your crown. For optimum functionality, the dental implant has a fixture/anchor that is made up of a titanium rod. The anchor has a screw or cylinder shape, to fit into the space that your dentist drills. The fixture holds the entire dental implant together by rooting itself inside the jawbone tissue.

Secondly, the implant has an abutment that serves as the link between the anchor and crown that will be your new tooth. An abutment has adjustable features that let your dentist screw it into place, to lock with the fixture piece. Additionally, the top layer of the abutment has a full surface, to receive/secure with the new crown tooth that completes the dental implant.

The crown has the impression of a natural tooth and is the final piece that links your dental implants. We work to produce the best possible replication of your lost tooth so that we can avoid any distinguishable features that may make the dental implant crown any different from your natural teeth.

The titanium rods that make up your fixture vary in sizes, depending on the tooth that needs replacement. Commonly, teeth that perform more vigorous functions like chewing or tearing flesh require a larger fixture size, to hold the crown in place.

The titanium material is the best option for such a delicate procedure, mainly because of its permanent feature that can withstand intense chewing pressure. Also, after numerous studies, dentists settled on titanium because it’s metallic composition fused with human jaw bone tissue quickly, compared to other options like aluminum. Therefore, you do not have to worry about future complications regarding the use of metallic structures. You are sure to receive durable and reliable anchorage with a titanium dental implant that will last for a minimum of ten years.

The Purpose of Dental Implant Single Tooth Replacements

Patients require a tooth replacement for varying reasons that revolve around daily life. We recommend tooth replacements when you suffer severe trauma that lodged a tooth off its natural jaw bone placement, to prevent the entry of bacteria into the open wound. Additionally, some conditions related to gum diseases can cause adverse effects if not stopped by root replacement that includes the placement of dental implants. Some of these oral diseases that lead to tooth loss are:

  • Severe tooth decay.
  • Chronic Gum disease.

When your tooth undergoes decay from accumulated bacteria, the result may be the total removal of the enamel and the root. The procedure prevents the microbes from proceeding into the delicate jawbone tissue, which may cause further damage to your entire jaw bone. Similarly, periodontal diseases affect the gum and may spread into a single tooth structure. If there is severe liquid retention inside the tooth dentine that is caused by gum disease, your dentist will recommend full tooth extraction and replacement. It is essential to replace the tooth because the open tissue would only become a new breeding ground for harmful bacteria, if not covered by a dental implant.

On the other hand, physical activities may cause the loss of a tooth, warranting a dental implant tooth replacement afterward. Severe tooth chipping or traumatic injury are the leading causes of loss of teeth where no diseases play a role.

Without proper dental implant treatment, you may end up doing more harm than good to your oral health. Also, the implants play a role in enhancing your confidence, as you are sure of a firm anchorage to your jawbone. Other alternative remedies to replace lost teeth like dental bridges and dentures are prone to malfunctions that can cause discomfort.

Preparing for a Single Tooth Replacement

Before we get to fitting the dental implant that will replace the lost tooth, we require to run some tests that will grant us all the necessary treatment information. The data we collect from you serves the purpose of guiding us into choosing the most accurate dental implant placement options, to avoid tampering with your jawbone unnecessarily.

To obtain this vital data, we will schedule several consultation appointments with you before the actual replacement procedures. In the first appointment, your dentist will ask you several questions concerning your medical history. Although you may find it unrelated to your treatment, we ask numerous questions about any previous medical conditions and medication you may be on to prevent a mishap during the surgical procedure.

Additionally, learning about past conditions like bacterial infections may create a link between the cause of losing your tooth, if it is related to any periodontal diseases. At this stage, you can ask as many questions as you have concerning the mode of treatment you can expect us to use during the dental implant placement. Also, raising any additional information concerning allergies gives us a more comfortable time developing specialized care that removes any source of harm from your treatment.

We will also collect further information from taking X-Rays images of your skull. It is always useful for your dentist to have a clear lateral and side-view picture of your dental structure, as he/she can use it to make accurate measurements of your teeth placement. The X-ray images also show any teeth that may need extraction from the deep gum tissue before placing the dental implant, if necessary.

Taking 3D CT-scans of your dental arrangement is also paramount, for any chance of a successful single tooth replacement. The 3D scans provide beneficial information concerning the anatomy of your jawbone, to ensure that you have adequate bone density for your surgery. Also, thanks to the scans, we can determine the quality of the jawbone and detect any defects that may require several preparatory procedures like bone grafting.

Lastly, we determine the actual measurements of your teeth, as well as the distance between each, to ensure that the implant fits your jawbone without causing significant discomfort. Your dentist will undertake several 3D-simulated procedures that will place the dental implant anchor into the jawbone virtually. The step ensures that all the data collected serves its purpose in producing accurate results. Also, the pre-treatment procedure allows the dentist to correct any margin errors that may have occurred from the initial measurements taken.

With all these preparation procedures, you can be sure of a high-quality and accurate single tooth replacement using dental implants, because your dentist has specialized information set to run the surgical procedure successfully.

The Process of a Single Tooth Replacement

Similar to most dental procedures, one or several single tooth replacement processes are a multiple-stage occurrence. The need for performing the entire system in individual steps is to give your body ample time to adjust to the foreign object inside your jawbone. The time allowance prevents unwanted infections and cases of inflammation that would otherwise cause inconveniences to you. While the actual surgical procedure of fitting the dental implant fixture takes a short time, a lot goes into it because it lays the foundation for the sequential processes.

  1. Placing the Dental Implant Fixture

Firstly, the dentist will numb your gums, to reduce the nerve activities that enable pain detection. There is no need to numb the jaw bone as well since it does not have active nerve activity. Thus, you will not feel much pain on the jawbone tissue, if any. Instead, you may experience some slight discomfort that rarely becomes unbearable to patients. We use local anesthesia for the procedure because it is not highly invasive. Besides, we prefer having you awake so that you can follow through every step we take and request you to maintain a specific position to prevent tongue interference that may cause distractions as the dental implant is fitted into your jawbone.

After confirmed numbing, your dentist will proceed to make an incision in the gum tissue that opens up the jawbone. Since the gums are soft, a small cut is enough to move the overlying mass and open up the internal surface. Your dentist uses a specialized mode of cutting that creates minimum bleeding. With advanced technologies, we now have the option of laser cutting that incorporates heat in making incisions for accurate cuts and little to no blood loss.

When the dentist accesses the jawbone surface, he/she proceeds to drill into the jawbone to gap the hole that will accommodate the dental implant. The equipment that we use for the drilling process has slow movements that prevent massive tissue damage and bone wastage. Also, the tip of the drill has specific measurements to produce a fitting gap for the dental implant fixture. The delicate step of drilling also requires periodical removal of all the wasted bone tissue that leads to opening the hole up. Thus, your dentist may have to make several stops to clean out the jawbone material and then proceed to drill. Overall, the step is not very complicated and takes a few minutes to complete.

Having created a hole inside your jawbone, you are ready for the dental implant fixture. It fits right into the incision made by drilling and should hold firm against the surrounding jawbone tissue. When the dentist confirms proper anchorage, he/she will fold the opened up gum tissue back into its original position to cover the wound. The covering of the dental implant concludes the first step of a single tooth replacement.

You would require about two to six months to recover from the first fixture placement if the procedure was on the lower jaw. However, for a maxilla(upper jaw) procedure, the total recovery time ranges between four to six months. The longer healing time is because of, the lower bone density on the upper jaw bone, caused by existing sinus tissue that overlaps your jawbone tissue.

During the recovery period, the dental implant fixture should graft and adhere to your jawbone tissue through a cellular process called osseointegration. Without complete adherence, the implant may cause severe abrasions and discomfort in the delicate tissues. Therefore, the long waiting period is well justified, because, without it, your dental implant will not be as effective as it should. Also, the opened gum tissue should heal within this period, to prevent exposing the opened up wound to microbes that are prone to causing subsequent infections. After the recovery process, your dentist will call you in for a check-up to confirm that you are ready for the second phase of treatment.

  1. Fixing The Healing Cap Abutment

To prepare you for the second part of treatment, your dentist has to numb you and open up the gum tissue again, to access the dental implant anchor. Since the abutment is directly linked to the implant fixture, you will inevitably have to undergo another gum incision. The process is relatively simple and only takes some minutes to fix. We ensure that the abutment grips onto the implant firmly, to prevent any future loose fixes that will require repair. After setting the healing cap, you will have to persevere some days of raw gum tissue, because we cannot close it up again.

The abutment has to stay exposed to the rest of your dental formula, as it is the direct link between your crown and the fixture. However, we will offer a cap to prevent any exposing the open wound to food particles and bacteria. Typically, you can expect complete healing of the gum tissues after two to four weeks, depending on your physiological body functions. You should not be alarmed by any prolonged recovery time, because all patients are different. Nevertheless, you should report any cases of protracted bleeding or recurrent pain because it could be a developing infection.

  1. Fitting the Crown

 If all goes well with the other process of fitting the abutment, you will come in for the final step of a single tooth replacement- fitting the crown. The replica of your tooth undergoes a unique design to ensure that it matches your natural teeth color to prevent conspicuous features. The base of the top has an opening that fits into the abutment piece for proper interlocking. With the firm grip in place, your tooth replacement is complete, and you are ready to get back to your healthy life.

You should note that you can undergo tooth replacement procedures for multiple teeth, depending on the number you have lost. Therefore, the timelines may vary if you have more than one tooth to replace. Additionally, front teeth require specialized procedures than the back teeth because they are very noticeable. As a result, your dentist must analyze treatment to ensure that your dental implant crown replacement fits perfectly into your dental structure. We, therefore, advise our patients to be ready for an extended treatment period for the best results.

Lastly, sometimes the option of receiving a one-day treatment procedure is available. In this case, you can undergo all three steps in a single surgical process. While there are several advantages to this option, we advise you to expect additional tests that will help us determine whether or not you are ready for a one-off treatment process. Some of the essential elements that qualify you for the procedure are:

Your Bone Depth

If you have sufficient jawbone depth that will support the dental implant firmly into your jaw, we may consider the one-day treatment process for you. However, this characteristic must manifest hand in hand with the rest, for proper conditions that will not result in a botched procedure.

Your Jawbone Quality

If you have very delicate jawbone tissue, it is best to consider the three-stage implant procedure because it gives you adequate time for osseointegration to occur. Moreover, you require high-quality jawbone tissue on your upper jaw, that will strike out the need for a bone grafting procedure. Naturally, if you would have to undergo the grafting surgery, you are not eligible for the single-day tooth replacement process.

The Force Exerted on Your Teeth

Some patients’ teeth take longer to adjust to new pressure forces from the implant than others. If you have experienced prolonged tooth adjustment from previous orthodontic treatment, you are better off sticking to the three-stage treatment process.

Overall, you do not have to worry about whichever process we recommend to you because the results are the same. We recommend choosing the multiple-step procedure, as it allows natural body adaptations to the dental implant.

Oral Care After the Single Tooth Replacement Procedure

When you complete the dental implant fixation process, you need to take proper care of your teeth. Putting effort into your oral care will save you a lot of recurring infections and inflammation in the area surrounding your implants. Some of the helpful tips to follow are:

  1. Avoid Chewing Hard Foods

Even though a dental implant crown should replace your natural teeth, you should exercise extra caution when chewing hard foods. You do not have to subject the restored tooth to high chewing pressure because it may loosen the dental implant. We advise you to avoid ice, hard candy, and other hard foods that will impose too much force on your dental implant.

  1. Reduce Smoking Habits

If your initial tooth loss arose from smoking, you should avoid the practice entirely, because it could cause consequences for your new implant. Besides this, your other natural teeth may suffer a similar fate to the tooth you lost, caused by the harmful effects of smoke.

  1. Brush Your Teeth Regularly

Your replaced tooth requires as much care as your natural teeth, to ward off bacteria. Brushing around the implant crown prevents diseases like Peri-implantitis that destroys your jawbone tissue and requires advanced surgical removal.

The Cost of Single Tooth Replacement

The typical price for a single tooth replacement fitted with dental implants is $3,000 to $4,500. With the payment, you receive all the necessary surgical procedures for a full recovery and any aftercare equipment that will help you get a seamless recovery period.

For most patients, you may receive financial relief from your insurance cover, which offers to pay for up to half of the costs involved.

However, if you are unable to source funds from your insurance cover scheme, we are willing to offer several payment plans that reduce the financial pressure you may have. We provide flexible pay rates that let you begin the treatment process and worry less about making an immediate payment.

Find a Dental Implant Dentist Near Me

When you need a tooth replacement for any previous traumatic tooth loss, we have you covered. At the La Puente Dental Implant Center clinic, you will receive specialized care and treatment to remedy any damages and dental implant needs you have. We dedicate ourselves to providing a stress-free single tooth replacement procedure, to help you get a brilliant smile. Contact us today at 626-995-0456.