Your Step-by-Step Guide to the Dental Implant Process

If you are one of the roughly 178 million Americans missing at least one tooth, you may be interested in getting a dental implant. With about 500,000 dental implants placed every year, you’d be joining a growing group of people waking up each day with an improved smile and fewer missing teeth. 

While the chance to improve your smile may be hard to pass up, you may have some questions about what happens when a person gets an implant. After all, it’s not every day you get something embedded in your jaw. Learning the steps may help you decide that dental implants could be for you. 

If you are interested in dental implants or want to know how you can replace missing teeth, come see the team at Mark Kramer, DDS in Tustin, California. Dr. Kramer and his team are proud of their patient-centric focus and the exceptional results their patients see. 

In this blog, Dr. Kramer gives a step-by-step overview of the implant process. 

Consultation

Before the dental implant process can get started, you’ll have a consultation with Dr. Kramer. He will assess your health and perform a CT scan to determine if you are eligible. While many people will qualify, you need healthy gums and adequate mass in your jawbone to be a candidate. Without these, you risk implant failure. You also need to be in good general health. Smokers and people with uncontrolled chronic disorders – such as diabetes or heart disease – may not qualify. 

Tooth removal and grafting

Once Dr. Kramer has created your custom treatment plan, you may need to have diseased and damaged teeth removed; these will be replaced with implants. If you don’t have enough jawbone mass during your consultation, Dr. Kramer may recommend bone grafting, which adds volume and density to your jaw in areas where bone loss has occurred. This will make the jawbone strong enough to bond with and secure the implant post. 

Implant post placement

In this step, you get the first part of your implant. Dr. Kramer will drill a hole into your jawbone and place the implant post. As you heal, your jawbone will fuse with the implant, a process called osseointegration. This effectively makes the implant a part of your jaw and gives it the same strength as a real tooth. 

Abutment and crown placement 

Once your jaw has healed, Dr. Kramer will place the abutment, a small post that connects the implant post to the final restoration, whether that be a crown, dentures, or bridge. Your gums will heal around, but not over, the abutment, providing more stability and the feeling of a natural tooth. Once everything is healed and the restoration is placed, you’ll be ready to go with the added peace of mind that Mark Kramer, DDS has a 99% success rate with our implant and restoration procedures, plus a lifetime guarantee of effectiveness. 

To learn more about dental implants and whether you may be a good candidate, book an appointment online or over the phone with Mark Kramer, DDS today.