Dental Implants – North Providence, RI
The Comprehensive Approach to Replacing Missing Teeth
Over the last several decades, dental implants have emerged as one of the most popular treatments for tooth loss. It’s because they offer a wide array of unique benefits that distinguish them from traditional restorations, like jawbone preservation and improved oral and overall health. Our team conducts the entire tooth replacement process with dental implants in our North Providence, RI dental office, using biocompatible zirconia, allowing patients to enjoy safe, natural-looking and feeling smiles with the convenience of sticking to the same team of professionals that you trust.
Why Choose Bio Dental for Dental Implants?
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Start-to-Finish Dental
Implant Treatment -
We’re Dental
Insurance-Friendly -
Biocompatible, Holistic
Zirconia Implants
What are Zirconia Dental Implants?
Zirconia Dental implants themselves are small, sturdy posts that we can place below your gumline to restore the root structure of any number of missing teeth. Due to biocompatible nature of our materials, they’re able to naturally fuse with the jawbone through a process called osseointegration, allowing them to function exactly how the roots of your natural teeth do. Once they’ve done this, we can attach a customized restoration, like a dental crown or bridge, to them so you can enjoy lifelike, fully functional prosthetics.
The 4 Step Dental Implant Process
Unlike with more traditional methods of tooth replacement such as dentures and dental bridges, getting dental implants requires a unique, multi-step process which spans several months. Although this may seem like an excessive amount of time, most patients find that the long-term benefits make it well worth the wait.
At Bio Dental, we’re proud to complete the entire dental implant treatment process right here in our office instead of referring you to an outside specialist. Our dentists have years of experience restoring smiles with dental implants and have the skills and aesthetic judgement to give you the gorgeous, glowing grin you’ve been missing.
Although every patient’s treatment will vary, there are typically four main steps you can expect along the way: the consultation, surgery, osseointegration, and of course the delivery of your final restoration(s)!
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
At your dental implant consultation, Dr. Castillo or Dr. Ikonomi will review your oral health and medical history to determine if you are a good candidate for treatment. If necessary, we will work with you to complete any preliminary procedures including gum disease therapy, tooth extractions, or bone grafting. Next, we can move on to planning the rest of your dental implant treatment. We’ll be happy to walk you through the next steps, including the timeline and total cost.
Dental Implant Surgery
At Bio Dental, we are proud to complete the entire dental implant process in-house. This means you won’t need to drive around from office to office, file multiple claims, or pay multiple doctors for your care.
When you arrive for your dental implant surgery, your dental team will numb the area of your mouth receiving the implant or implants. Then, once you’re comfortable, an incision will be placed in your gums, and the implant will be permanently inserted into your jawbone. Next, your gums will be closed with sutures, and protective caps will be placed over the exposed portion of the implant posts.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement
Osseointegration is an extremely important stage of the dental implant process. This is where the dental implant permanently fuses with the jawbone. This process can typically take four to six months but could take longer or shorter depending on your individual health. Once osseointegration is completed, you will need another minor surgical procedure to place the abutments on top of your dental implant post(s). As you heal from this over the next few weeks, your final restoration(s) will be crafted at the dental lab from impressions made of your teeth during your consultation.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
Once your mouth has healed from your abutment surgery, you’ll be ready to return to Bio Dental to have your final restoration(s) placed. These may be in the form of a crown or crowns, bridge, or a denture, depending on how many teeth you’re replacing. On this visit, your dentist will check to ensure that your bite is comfortable, and if everything looks good, you’ll be ready to go home and enjoy your newly restored smile that very same day!
The Benefits of Dental Implants
There are countless advantages of dental implants. They come highly recommended by patients and professionals alike because they’re an ideal solution for nearly anybody suffering from tooth loss. Since dental implants replace the roots of the missing teeth, they allow for a wide range of benefits that you can’t experience with dentures or dental bridges. Here are just some of the most prominent ones.
Day-to-Day Benefits
Dental implants look and feel just like natural teeth do. You shouldn’t even notice much of a difference in your day-to-day life. Here are some of the benefits you can experience every day.
- Bite Force: Since dental implants are anchored into the jawbone, they give patients the ability to chew various foods for a more nutritious diet.
- Easy to Maintain: Just brush twice, floss, and rinse your mouth with mouthwash every day like you normally would.
- Confidence: With dental implants, you can feel confident when you smile, eat, speak, and laugh.
Health Benefits
In addition to your daily benefits, you will notice benefits to your health. Here are some of the most notable ones.
- Improved Oral Health: Since dental implants replace the lost roots of the missing teeth, they are fully self-supported. They help to prevent future oral health issues related to tooth loss.
- Improved General Health: Having excellent oral health will positively influence your general health. By keeping up excellent oral health, you can prevent serious medical issues, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
- Prevents Bone Loss: Dental implants are the only tooth replacement option that preserves your jawbone by stimulating it through routine chewing.
Long-Term Benefits
When you get dental implants, you are making a long-term investment in your smile. Here are some benefits you can enjoy for many years to come.
- Long-Lasting: With proper maintenance, patients can enjoy dental implants for a lifetime.
- Successful: Dental implants have an incredible success rate of over 95%. Dental implant failure is highly unlikely.
- Save Money: You don’t need to worry about buying adhesives or soaking solutions when you have dental implants. They also don’t require frequent repairs and replacements. Additionally, dental implants help to reduce your risk of health issues, saving you time, discomfort, and money.
Who Can Dental Implants Help?
Dental implants can help patients who are missing one or more teeth and are looking for a comprehensive tooth replacement treatment. Even if you’re not a good candidate for this procedure right off the bat, we can definitely help get you there with advanced preparatory treatments like tooth extractions, bone grafts, sinus lifts, and gum disease therapy. At your initial consultation, we’ll develop a customized treatment timeline and walk you through how dental implants can restore your smile.
Missing Single Tooth
For a single missing tooth, we can place one dental implant below the gumline and into the jawbone to restore the root structure. Once it has fused with the bone and the abutment has been secured, we’ll attach a customized dental crown. The best part about this method of replacing one tooth is that it doesn’t require any alteration of your healthy, surrounding teeth.
Missing Multiple Teeth
For multiple missing teeth, instead of getting a dental bridge that’s anchored to your natural teeth, we’ll secure the prosthetic to two dental implants that are placed at either end of the gap in your smile. Once the restoration is attached, you’ll be able to enjoy your entire arch of teeth.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
The cost of each patient’s dental implant treatment varies based on a variety of factors, including how many implants you need to have placed, what type of prosthetic you’ll require, and whether you need any preparatory procedures. Our team is more than happy to help you navigate financing options and break down each portion of the treatment and its cost. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let us know!
Biocompatible Zirconia
Our team primarily uses biocompatible, metal-free zirconia for dental implants because of its durability, its longevity, and its outstanding health benefits. Unlike more traditional options, zirconia does not have reactions with certain metals and prompt unwanted bodily reactions, which makes it ideal for patients who struggle with sensitivites or outright allergies to certain metals found in dental care. Better yet, its hard ceramic nature is still extremely lifelike, which means you can smile with full confidence once your new "tooth" or "teeth" are complete. No one will be able to tell the difference!
Advanced Dental Implant Procedures
While dental implants can certainly benefit your smile and oral health, you’ll have to meet certain requirements for them to be successful. For instance, you’ll need to be healthy and have a strong jawbone to support the zirconia posts. Fortunately, our team can provide you with certain services that can help get you on track with undergoing your restoration treatment. Depending on your situation, here are several dental implant procedures we offer to ensure you have a higher chance of success renewing your missing pearly whites.
Bone Grafting
When you receive dental implants, you’ll need to take around three to six months to fully recover, which is when your zirconia post should bond with the jawbone tissue through osseointegration. However, if your jaw doesn’t have sufficient bone density due to deterioration, you might not have a strong enough foundation for the fusing process. If so, then we’ll need to perform bone grafting to help you.
This procedure involves using bone tissue from a donor or somewhere else in your body and embedding it in the area where your jawbone is weakest. Over time, this should help promote the growth of stronger bone tissue, increasing your chance of successful treatment. You may need several months to completely heal from this, but you’ll be able to enjoy a newly rebuilt smile for many years to come!
Sinus Lift
Having missing teeth can typically cause the jawbone to deteriorate over time. If this occurs in the upper jaw, it can result in your sinus cavities being too close to the area your dental implants will be embedded, meaning you won’t have a strong foundation for your posts. This is where a sinus lift comes into play. Your dentist will make an incision in the gums and then make an opening in the bone. They’ll carefully push the thin membrane holding the sinuses out of the way before placing bone grafting material to promote a thicker jawbone. Your recovery may take four to nine months, but you should be set to go for dental implant surgery afterward.
PRP/PRF Treatment
This modern treatment enables you to have a much smoother healing period once you’ve undergone dental implant placement. PRP/PRF treatment involves extracting a small amount of your blood and preparing it so that we can apply the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) onto the surgical site. By doing so, the growth factors in the plasma can help significantly reduce your recovery time while also reducing your discomfort and risk of infection or complications from your implant procedure.
Holistic Dentistry
Our team focuses on caring for both your teeth and overall health. For this reason, we offer holistic services that are designed to help your body recover naturally and effectively. Other than our PRP/PRF treatment, we also offer ozone therapy—a safe and noninvasive procedure that utilizes ozone gas in any areas of your mouth that are infected, effectively killing harmful bacteria. This treatment can also help improve circulation as well as your immune response for quicker healing!
Dental Implant FAQs
Are Dental Implants Safe?
Yes, dental implants, and the surgical procedure required to place them, are completely safe. For one thing, our practice uses zirconia dental implants, which reduces the risk of negative bodily reactions compared to implants made from traditional materials. What’s more, Dr. Castillo is a Fellow of the International Dental Implant Association, making her a true expert when it comes to dental implant treatment. She’ll make sure that, if you have any health conditions that could complicate dental implant surgery, any risks are fully minimized beforehand.
How Long Does It Take to Recover from Dental Implant Surgery?
The exact length of the healing process varies from patient to patient, but you’ll most likely feel back to normal within a week of your procedure. Some patients even feel well enough to return to work the very next day! Of course, you shouldn’t do this if your job involves physical exertion, as it could prevent your body from healing properly. It’s normal to experience mild to moderate swelling, soreness, and general discomfort for about three to four days. Dr. Castillo will provide you with detailed aftercare guidelines on how to handle these symptoms, which may include using cold compresses and taking pain medication as she has directed.
Will People Be Able to Tell That I Have Dental Implants?
After we’ve attached your final prosthetics on top of your implants, they should look almost exactly like the pearly whites you once had. That’s because we use restorations crafted from the most lifelike materials that flawlessly resemble tooth enamel, right down to the way they reflect light. We also use a digital impression system that creates perfect models of your original teeth, allowing us to replicate their exact shape and size. Lastly, you’ll never have to worry about holding your jaw in an unnatural way to keep your teeth from slipping – something denture wearers must often do – because you can count on your implants to stay reliably in place.
Is There Anything I Shouldn’t Eat with Dental Implants?
For the first week or two after your dental implant surgery, you’ll need to follow a careful diet. Stay away from foods that are too sugary, hard, or acidic, and refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages. You should also avoid drinking through a straw; it could disturb the blood clot that’s necessary to heal, causing the dreaded painful dry socket.
Once you’ve recovered from the initial surgical placement, though, dental implants will let you bite and chew with the same ease that you had with your natural teeth. This makes it easier to eat a varied diet filled with crunchy, nutritious foods like fresh fruits and vegetables. Still, you’ll want to limit your consumption of overly hard, acidic, or sugary foods and beverages, as they could end up damaging your implants over time.
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