Dental Implant Restoration

What are dental implant restorations?

Dental implant restorations are prosthetic teeth that attach to your smile with dental implants.

Dental implants are artificial tooth roots made from biocompatible materials, like titanium. An oral surgeon, or periodontist, surgically places them in your jawbone, where they’re able to fuse with your bone tissue because your body doesn’t register the biocompatible material as a foreign substance.

Once fused, your dental implant provides a secure and sturdy foundation on top of which Dr. Beck can fit you with a beautiful restoration, like a crown, bridge, or dentures.

What advantages do dental implants have?

Dental implants are functionally identical to the natural structure of your teeth, which gives them a few advantages over other restorations, like traditional bridges and dentures.

To replace your tooth with a bridge, Dr. Beck has to remove enamel from the teeth adjacent to your missing tooth, which permanently alters them. This isn’t necessary with a dental implant restoration because the dental implant connects directly to your jawbone, so you get to keep more of the natural structures of your mouth intact.

And because dental implants are connected directly to your jawbone, they stimulate your bone tissue in a way that bridges and dentures don’t. When your jaw doesn’t receive healthy stimulation, the bone tissue begins to break down and deteriorate or resorb.

By mimicking your natural tooth structure, dental implants prevent this bone loss from happening, which keeps your jaw healthier and maintains the shape of your face.

What happens when I get a dental implant restoration?

First, an oral surgeon or a periodontist needs to insert your dental implants surgically. This is a multi-step procedure that typically takes a few months to accomplish fully. Then, your provider makes an incision in your gum, drills a small hole in your jaw, and places your implant in your bone. Your jawbone and the implant take a few months to fuse as you heal from the surgery.

Once your implant is in place, your oral surgeon fits you with your abutment. The abutment is a tiny post that connects to your implants, sticks up out of your gum line, and eventually attaches to your restoration.

After your abutment is safe and secure, Dr. Beck takes an impression of your smile that he uses to design your restoration. 

If you’re getting a bridge or dentures, he sends your impression to a lab that custom-builds your restoration. Once your bridge or dentures come back from the lab, he seals it to your abutment to complete your tooth replacement.

Call the office today to schedule your dental implant restoration visit with Dr. Beck and the team at Alta Canyada Dental Group.