Dental Implants – Lacey, WA

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

During the initial consultation, we’ll capture X-rays of your mouth and conduct a thorough examination of your teeth and gums. We’ll also speak with you about your medical history before walking you through the dental implant process and helping you decide whether it’s the best tooth replacement treatment for you.

This visit will also include an evaluation of your jawbone density, as this area of your mouth must be in the best possible shape to ensure adequate support for your new teeth. If we find that your bone is lacking, we will likely recommend bone grafting as well as other preliminary procedures (if necessary) to create a healthier environment for your future dental implants.

Dental Implant Surgery

At Peterson & Cammack, we are pleased to offer a more convenient option by placing dental implants in-house, so you won’t have to be referred out to a specialist and a team that you don’t know. We will start by administering local anesthesia to numb the designated areas of your mouth. Then, we will make small incisions in the gumline to expose the underlying bone. Each implant post will be positioned and angled appropriately so that it remains in place while fusing with surrounding tissues.

Once the placement of your implants is complete, we will close the gum tissue and place protective healing caps over the surgical areas.

Dental Implant Osseointegration/Abutment

After your implants have been placed, they’ll undergo a process called osseointegration, where they’ll fuse with your jawbone. This process can take between 4-6 months, and you’ll need to follow the guidelines we provide so that you do not experience complications during recovery. Once osseointegration is complete, we’ll attach a small metal connector piece called an abutment to each implant post, as this will help to hold your restoration in place.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations

Depending on the type of restoration you receive, which can be a crown, bridge, or denture, we will secure it on top of your dental implants so that you can view your complete and fully functional smile. While you may experience some slight sensitivity following placement, you can expect it to dissipate in the following days, allowing you to take full advantage of your new teeth.

Day-to-Day Benefits

Once your gums and jawbone have healed completely, your dental implant shouldn’t feel anything different from a natural tooth. You might even forget that it is there! Here are just some of the ways you can benefit from your dental implants every single day.

• Easy Maintenance: There are no necessary products or equipment you’ll need to buy to keep your new smile looking and feeling its best. Instead, you can simply treat and clean your implants just like you do your regular teeth.
• Stronger Bite Force: Dental implants have the ability to restore your bite force up to 90%! This is much more than what you can expect from dental bridges or dentures.
• Increased Confidence: If you have gaps in your smile, it is easy to feel your confidence lacking. With dental implants, you can continue to show off your grin with pride.

Health Benefits

Dental implants have a positive impact on your health. Here are some of the ways that your dental implants can benefit your entire body.

• Improved Dental Health: Missing teeth can increase your risk of other dental problems. This includes gum disease, misalignment, and additional tooth loss. Dental implants can help to prevent these negative effects.
• Better General Health: Dental health and general health are very closely related. When your smile is thriving, you are at a lower risk of numerous life-threatening conditions, including diabetes and heart disease.
• Prevents Bone Loss: When your jawbone isn’t being stimulated with regular chewing, it starts to be reabsorbed by the body. Dental implants replace the roots of the missing teeth, stimulating the jawbone and preventing bone loss.

Long-Term Benefits

Dental implants have a higher cost than traditional dentures and bridges, but there are good reasons why. Here are some of the benefits that you can experience for many years or even the rest of your life:

• Long-Lasting: Dental implants are strong and durable tooth replacement solutions, which means with proper care and maintenance, you can anticipate a restoration that will last for many years to come. While your crown, bridge, or denture will likely need to be replaced over time, your implant post(s) can remain in place for a lifetime.
• Successful: Dental implants have an incredible success rate of over 95%! It is very unlikely that you will experience a failure.
• Save Money: Dental implants have a higher upfront cost, but they are made to last for a very long time. You don’t need to worry about frequent repairs or replacements, and you don’t need to stock up on adhesive and soaking solutions. Implants can even prevent costly oral health issues from arising, allowing you to save a lot of money in the future.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

Before you go through the trouble and cost of dental implants, we must make sure you make a good candidate. Otherwise, you’ll just waste valuable time and money! In order to receive dental implants, you must be in good oral health and not have any infections or other oral issues. You must also have good general health, meaning you should be able to undergo minor surgery without having potential problems. Finally, you must have enough jawbone density to serve as the foundation of your implants.

Missing One Tooth

For a single missing tooth, our team will recommend an implant-retained dental crown. This will include one titanium implant post, metal abutment, and custom-made crown to restore your smile. Unlike a normal bridge, which stays in place by covering two healthy teeth, one dental implant stands independently and does not negatively affect the teeth around it. As a result, you can hold onto your natural enamel for as long as possible.

Missing Multiple Teeth

Should you be missing three or more consecutive teeth, we can place two implants into the vacated sockets at each end. Then, we secure a customized dental bridge to eliminate the gaps and have you seeing a healthier, more beautiful smile. This way, you can replace your missing teeth but also avoid having an implant for each one. During your consultation, we can put together a strategy that will meet your unique needs in the most efficient way.

Missing All Teeth

Need to replace all your natural teeth? Dental implants are still an option for your smile. Requiring anywhere from four to eight dental implants that are strategically positioned in the arch, implant dentures stay in place much more securely than traditional dentures. Plus, with implants, your dentures offer a more cost-effective solution in the long run due to its lifespan. Needless to say, anyone who needs tooth replacement could benefit from dental implants!

Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery

Not all patients suffering from tooth loss are able to receive dental implant surgery right away. Instead, preliminary treatments may be necessary to help ensure an optimal environment for these prosthetics. Gum disease treatment, tooth extraction, or even bone grafting or a sinus lift may be necessary before the actual dental implant process can begin. If you are required to undergo one or more of these services, they will be added to the total cost of your treatment.

Also, your dental implant surgery will require a separate fee. But instead of paying an outside specialist that you see as a result of a referral, we are pleased to place and restore implants in-house. This makes the payment process much easier, as you’ll avoid having to pay a separate fee to someone outside our dental office.

The Parts of Your Dental Implant

Your dental implants are also considered part of the overall cost. During your consultation, your implant dentist in Lacey will further discuss these individual components:

• How many implants you will need – It is much less expensive to replace a single missing tooth than an entire arch. So, naturally, one single implant will cost less than between 4 and 8 for an implant denture.
• The materials used – Because dental implants are made from different materials (i.e., titanium, zirconia), the type chosen will be factored into the overall cost.
• The type of restoration – A single dental crown is less costly than a full denture, so depending on how many teeth you are missing, you will need to be ready to pay for the restoration to match.
• The brand – There are multiple types of dental implant brands. While some are considered cheaper, that doesn’t always mean they’re better. Our dental office chooses the type of brand used, but we’ll explain why it will give you the results you desire more than other, cheaper solutions.

How Dental Implants Can Save You Money

Dental implants can change and improve your quality of life. Missing teeth can wreak havoc on your smile if left untreated, resulting in bone and tooth loss as well as facial changes and even health-related problems. By choosing a solution that will not only enhance your smile’s aesthetics but also continue to stimulate your jawbone and keep your oral health in optimal condition, these are benefits that cannot be achieved with other, more traditional solutions.

You’ll also discover you’ll save money by opting for permanent prosthetics instead of more traditional dental bridges and dentures. This is possible because:

• You’ll avoid paying for treatment for various systemic issues that can negatively impact your overall health (i.e., osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease) and are commonly the result of tooth loss.
• You’ll avoid paying for denture adhesives to keep your prosthetics in place.
• You won’t need specialized cleaning solutions to ensure your teeth are healthy.

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

Most dental insurance companies do not currently cover dental implants; however, that is changing as more begin to realize the necessity of this type of restorative treatment. The only way to know is to contact a representative from your insurance company and talk to them about coverage. It may be possible to receive some level of coverage for preliminary treatments or your customized restoration.

If you are unsure of which questions to ask or you would prefer a member of our team to work on your behalf, let us know, and we will be happy to get you the answer you need.

Making Dental Implants Affordable

No matter if insurance agrees to cover part or all of your treatment, our team is available to discuss additional payment options to make dental implants a possible solution for you. By applying for a low-interest payment plan through CareCredit, you can minimize your expenses by committing to making manageable monthly installments toward the cost of your dental implants in Lacey. Not only will you be able to move forward with treatment, but you’ll worry less about the financial obligation associated with your care.

Bone Grafting

Once dental implants are surgically inserted into your jaw, a process called osseointegration begins. This is when the implant post fuses with the bone and surrounding tissue, essentially becoming part of your mouth. Osseointegration relies on there being a sufficient amount of bone tissue around the implant post. If we find that there isn’t enough bone in the area where the implant needs to be placed, we may recommend having a bone grafting procedure performed beforehand.

Bone grafting is a surgical procedure where new bone tissue is transplanted to repair or rebuild areas where the existing bone has broken down or been damaged. The tissue is normally taken from elsewhere in your body, but it can also come from a separate donor. We’ll open your gums to access the weakened part of the jaw and place the grafting material as needed.

Bone grafting encourages the jaw to produce new bone tissue until there’s enough to support dental implant posts. How long this takes varies from patient to patient, but generally speaking, it should take about 4 months before you’re ready for implant surgery.

Ridge Expansion

The ridge bone surrounds and supports your teeth. If a tooth is lost, the ridge bone in that area will start to deteriorate. This can cause the ridge to become narrower, and consequently, there won’t be enough room for dental implant posts. Alternatively, vertical bone height might be lost, which can make placing dental implants unsafe. Patients with a deteriorated ridge bone typically need a ridge expansion before they can be considered candidates for dental implant surgery.

For this procedure, the mouth is numbed, and the gums are opened so that we can access the underlying bone. We will divide the ridge bone into inner and outer segments before gently wedging them apart. Then, the bone grafting material is placed into the open space before the gums are closed again. Once the mouth recovers, there should be an adequate amount of bone width and height to support dental implants.

In certain cases, it may be possible to place the implant posts on the same day as ridge expansion. That said, most of the time you’ll usually have to wait for your mouth to heal completely before implant surgery can be performed. This usually takes a few months, although the exact amount of time varies from patient to patient.

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

Since you won’t be able to visit the dentist every day to have your teeth cleaned, you’ll need to practice regular brushing and flossing to prevent plaque buildup on your tooth replacements. Brush for at least two minutes at a time twice a day and floss daily to remove plaque and food debris from in between teeth. Consider including an oral rinse into your routine to help make your hygiene more thorough.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Eating a diet high in sugars and starch will only increase your risk for plaque buildup, which actively harms your gum tissue responsible for keeping your dental implant in place. Keep foods containing these ingredients to a minimum and eat more healthy options like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and dairy products for a more balanced diet. These foods contain essential vitamins and minerals conducive to a healthy mouth.

Break Bad Habits

Certain habits can be detrimental to the health of your teeth, gums, and dental implants, and using tobacco isn’t the only one. While you should discontinue the use of tobacco products to maintain the longevity of your dental implant, you’ll also need to avoid using your teeth as a tool. For example, never try to trim your fingernails or open packages and bottles with your teeth. Use a dedicated tool for the job instead. Additionally, avoid chewing on pens, pencils, ice cubes, popcorn kernels, or hard candies as these can crack and chip teeth and dental restorations.

Protect Your Dental Implants

Your dental implants need as much protection as your natural teeth, which means you’ll need to wear a mouthguard if you play contact sports or a nightguard if you have a teeth grinding and clenching problem while you sleep. Store-bought solutions are not going to provide the same comfort, longevity, or protection as custom-made options from a dentist, so you’ll want to consider investing in one if you play sports like football, basketball, soccer, hockey, wrestling, or struggle with bruxism.

Schedule Regular Dental Checkups

By completing a routine checkup once every six months, we can confirm that your dental implants are remaining healthy and your at-home oral hygiene is sufficiently keeping plaque and dental disease at bay. During your visit, we can also remove any calcified plaque or tartar, the latter of which can only be safely broken down by a dental professional.

What to Do Directly After Dental Implant Surgery

Dental implant surgery is certainly one of the most taxing parts of the entire process. However, you can expect to make a speedy, smooth-sailing, and comfortable recovery with proper care and maintenance. By following our dentist’s aftercare instructions diligently, you’ll be one step closer to having a fully restored smile!

While you recover after getting dental implants in Lacey, it’s crucial that you leave the blood clot on your surgery site untouched. To do this, be sure to avoid:

• Spitting (use tissues or swallow your saliva)
• Drinking from a straw
• Smoking or using tobacco products
• Touching the surgical site with your tongue or fingers

Common Side Effects

Have you ever had oral surgery before? If not, you’re probably unsure which symptoms are considered normal and which aren’t. Fortunately, knowing what to expect can help you better understand when you should be seeking help.

That said, here’s what you will experience in the first few days following your procedure:

• Intermittent Bleeding – You can control your bleeding by placing clean gauze over the area and applying light pressure. It can continue for several days after your surgery.
• Swelling – This can occur for 72 hours following your procedure, sometimes even over a week. You can reduce swelling by using a cold compress on the outside of your cheek over the area where you feel pain.
• General Discomfort – Although you will experience discomfort as you heal, it should gradually fade over time. You can relieve it by taking prescribed or over-the-counter pain medication.

Diet

It’s best to stick to a soft-food diet for the first few days following your procedure. With that in mind, here are some foods you should stock up on before your surgery:

• Mashed potatoes
• Yogurt
• Ice cream
• Pudding
• Soup (but not too hot!)
• Scrambled eggs
• Pasta

You can return to a normal diet as soon as you feel up to it. However, you’ll still want to exercise caution around crunchy or tough foods and avoid chewing directly on the implant site.

Health & Oral Hygiene

It’s incredibly important that you take proper care of your teeth and gums after dental implant surgery to avoid complications. When you brush your teeth, do it as you normally would but be careful around the surgical site. You’ll also want to rinse with warm salt water 2-3 times a day and after each meal. Avoid using any mouthwash that contains a high level of alcohol, as it can irritate your oral tissues or dry out your mouth.

What to Do After Your New Teeth Are Attached

Once you’re healed and the implants have successfully fused with your jawbone, you’ll return to the office for the final step. Our implant dentist in Lacey will place your restoration (crown, bridge, or denture) and complete your smile. If you experience mild sensitivity or discomfort after this step, you can manage it with a prescription or over-the-counter pain medication. If you experience bleeding or swelling, contact our team right away – those aren’t normal side effects after restoration attachment.