Dental implants can be used to replace a single missing tooth or to even support a set of fixed dentures. But if you’re going to receive them, how do you get ready? In today’s blog, your Shrewsbury, MA, dentist talks about how to prepare for your dental implant placement, and how we secure your new teeth.
The Benefits of Tooth Replacement
When you suffer from a missing tooth, or several, then this can impact how you eat, speak, and even cause misalignment to occur, which changes the health and appearance of your smile further. The pressure on your jaw could mean TMJ disorder and bruxism, causing painful symptoms. You could also lose additional teeth and develop an aged appearance as the jaw loses mass and density. But with the placement of dental implants, we can provide new roots that prevent the weakening of the jaw, and secure a new tooth to prevent these other complications, preserving your smile with lifelike and long-lasting tooth replacement.
Preparing For the Surgery
If we examine your smile and decide that dental implants are best for you, then our team will need to prepare you for surgery. To reduce your risk of implant failure, we will ask you to quit using any tobacco products and avoid alcohol for the week of your procedure. We will look at your medications to identify possible risks for the surgery, and ask that you eat a full meal the morning of the procedure. Be sure a friend or family member is on hand to take you home afterward, as the sedation effects can leave you a bit groggy. Be sure to wear loose and comfortable clothing too!
Placing Your New Roots
Once you arrive and are prepared with anesthesia and sedation, we will use digital surgical guides to oversee the placement of the dental implant posts. Which are biocompatible titanium posts inserted into the jaw. These will bond with the bone tissues and act as new roots. When the placement area heals, we will connect abutments and restorations. For those receiving implant dentures, in the same visit we may be able to connect abutments and attach the temporary denture, so you leave after one visit with a full smile. We can talk about your options and what to expect from the process, and help you on your journey to a full and beautiful smile.
If you have any questions about placing one or more dental implants, then contact our team today!
Ready for Implant Dentistry?
Our team wants to help you maintain a full smile with results that will last for decades to come. To find out more about how we place one or more dental implants, then please call our Shrewsbury/Grafton, MA area dental office at 508-842-8838.
