Think fast — do you have all your teeth? If you’re like most adults aged 20-64, you’re missing some. We start with 32 teeth (including four wisdom teeth), and on average, adults in this age group have 25.5 teeth, while 2.2% of the population has total tooth loss.
Tooth loss is caused by a variety of factors, including decay, gum disease, and traumatic accidents, and is associated with certain chronic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.
It isn’t advised to leave a gap in your mouth, and we’ll get into why soon, but there’s a restoration treatment that offers patients multiple benefits — dental implants.
The caring, competent team at Expressions in Dentistry provides dental implant services to patients who want a permanent, attractive solution to a missing tooth or teeth.
We educate you about the procedure, explain exactly what happens throughout the process, and are always happy to answer any questions or concerns you have. This is how we’ve built a practice based on partnership and trust with our patients.
If you lose a tooth, or multiple teeth, we don’t advise that you do nothing and just live with it. This is because a gap in your smile can lead to real problems, including:
Fortunately, there’s a superior restoration choice if you’re missing teeth, that beats out partial dentures or a bridge by far: the dental implant.
At Expressions in Dentistry, we walk you through the process of dental implant treatment well before you get started, so you know exactly what to expect.
We thoroughly examine your mouth and jaw and take imaging tests before your procedure to assess whether your jawbone is healthy enough to sustain the procedure.
If it turns out you’re short on bone tissue, your dentist may advise you to get a bone graft. This maximizes the strength of your gum and jaw so your implant or implants will have the most solid underpinning.
First, let’s talk about what a dental implant is and does. A small titanium implant replaces the root of your tooth, and it’s placed in your jawbone during a minor surgical procedure.
During the procedure, your gums will be numbed with anesthesia, and you may be sedated. Next, your dental provider creates a small incision in your gum, which reveals your bone.
Using special instruments, your dentist creates a minute hole in your jawbone for the implant and places it carefully. The final step is closing your incision.
After this process, your implant needs time to fuse with your jawbone and become fully embedded. A component known as an abutment connects your restoration to your implant.
When healing and fusing are complete, your implant is ready to provide a rock-solid foundation for a range of restoration options, including dentures, crowns, and bridges.
Our patients have wholeheartedly embraced dental implant treatment because of the many benefits it offers them:
We can even perform the All-on-4Ⓡ implant procedure, which replaces an entire arch (a complete set of upper or lower teeth), and enables you to get a new smile in just a day.
We’d love to talk with you more about whether a dental implant would be the right choice for you.
Contact our Folsom office at 916-983-6767 to schedule an appointment to learn more, or use our convenient online booking tool. For your convenience, we’re open until 7 pm Monday through Thursday, and we have Saturday hours as well.
