Dental Implants — Thorndale, PA

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

First, you’ll meet with Dr. Simeone to ensure that you’re a good candidate for dental implants. One of the great benefits of these permanent prosthetics is that they are a viable option for most adults suffering from tooth loss. If you are in good general oral and overall health, and you have enough jawbone, you will likely be given the green light to schedule your implant surgery. However, many patients will need to complete preliminary treatments such as bone grafting or periodontal therapy before beginning dental implant treatment.

Dental Implant Surgery

Next, the implants need to be placed. Fortunately, you will not need to receive a referral to see an outside specialist. Instead, we will perform the entire procedure in-house, allowing you to be much more comfortable. Before your implant dentist in Thorndale begins, you will receive local anesthesia to ensure you are pain-free throughout the procedure. We’ll then make one or more incisions in your gums (depending on how many dental implants you’re getting). Once we’ve accessed your jawbone, we’ll position the implant posts in place, close the gums around them, and place protective caps over the post.

Dental Implant Osseointegration/Abutment

Over the next four to six months, the dental implant posts will fuse with the surrounding bone tissue in a process called osseointegration to essentially become a part of your jaw. During this time, you will need to follow specific instructions to ensure that your mouth fully heals. Some minor soreness and discomfort are normal but will dissipate over time. You will then come back to our dental office to have small connector pieces called abutments attached to the top of your dental implants in Thorndale.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations

Lastly, you’ll return to our dental office to have your custom crown, bridge, or denture fastened into place. Because of the materials used, you can trust that your customized restoration will look and feel completely natural. Blending in with your remaining smile, you’ll feel much more confident in your appearance once this final stage of treatment is finished. We’ll check that your bite is comfortable, then you’ll be ready to go out and show off your newly completed smile.

Day-to-Day Benefits

• Eat a Nutritious Diet & All Your Favorite Foods: People who are stuck with an ill-fitting tooth replacement are often forced to limit their diets to only the soft foods they can easily eat. This can cause nutrition to suffer as a result. With dental implants, however, you are able to consume a wide variety of fresh and nutritious foods that help you look and feel great.
• Preserve What Nature Intended: Dental implants have been called “nature’s rival” in tooth replacement because they mimic the original tooth structure so well. By choosing this tooth replacement, you are setting yourself up for a prosthetic that looks and functions as well as your remaining teeth.
• Practice Easy Maintenance: Because dental implants mimic your natural tooth structure, you won’t have to learn any special techniques to keep them clean. Simply brush your teeth for two minutes, twice a day, floss daily, and continue to enjoy wonderful dental health.
• Enjoy a Youthful Appearance: Because a dental implant replaces a missing tooth’s root in addition to the visible crown, your jawbone receives the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and whole even after the original root has been lost. This whole-tooth replacement keeps the mouth from losing volume and adding years to your appearance. With dental implants, you can look exactly your age -- or younger!

Health Benefits

• Keep Your Remaining Natural Teeth in Place: Dental implants will help you keep your natural teeth firmly in place by promoting good oral health for the rest of your life. The implant posts prevent the degeneration of bone that is common after tooth loss, greatly reducing the risk that you will lose more teeth later on.
• Avoid Altering Regular Teeth: Dental bridges require that you use healthy adjacent teeth as anchors for your prosthetic; however, by allowing a trusted implant dentist in Thorndale to use dental implants, there is no need to bother your existing healthy teeth.
• Enjoy Improved Overall Health: Shorter lifespans are not uncommon for people over the age of 65 with 5 or more missing teeth. Tooth loss closely relates to many of the most common systemic issues (i.e., heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and more). By replacing yours with dental implants, you can enjoy better overall health for years to come.

Long-Term Benefits

• High Success Rate: Dental implants are known to have a success rate of 95% after 10 years!
• Smile for Decades to Come: Dental implants in Thorndale may seem like an expensive option in tooth replacement, but unlike dentures and dental bridges that need to be replaced every 5-10 years, with proper care and maintenance, dental implants can last for decades.
• Save Money Well Into the Future: Forget about replacements or adjustments to keep up with your diminishing jawbone -- dental implants can stay sturdy and secure for far longer than any other option in tooth replacement! Also, you’ll never need to buy adhesives or special cleaning supplies!

Missing 1 Tooth

When it comes to tooth replacement, dentistry’s standards have made dramatic changes over the past several decades. Instead of only solving the issue of gaps in your smile, like how a traditional bridge would, dental implants work to replace the tooth’s entire structure. This means they act as a 2-in-1 solution, not a half-measure. This makes dental implants the best long-term solution to missing teeth in dentistry to date. If you’re eligible for dental implants, our dentists strongly recommend them for treatment as they provide many decades of reliable use.

Missing Multiple Teeth

If you’ve lost two or more teeth in a row, we may recommend a dental implant-supported fixed bridge. These implant bridges allow us to anchor a row of fused together replacement teeth to two dental implant posts, one at each end. This fills a gap in your smile without adversely impacting the surrounding healthy teeth. Traditional dental bridges require the removal of healthy dental structure from the teeth on either side of the lost tooth or teeth, so the bridge can be anchored in place. Implant bridges offer a much more conservative solution that maintains all healthy oral structures.

Missing All Teeth

Many patients who have traditional dentures are unable to ever find a proper fit for their prosthetic teeth. Unfortunately, loose dentures can result in oral sores as well as significant stress and frustration over teeth that may slip or slide around while you are eating or speaking. Fortunately, dental implants can retain a full denture to help you smile with full confidence. You will not need an individual implant post placed for each missing tooth. Rather, several strategically-placed dental implants can be used to retain the prosthetic teeth. Implant dentures can be fixed or removable and sometimes, your dentist can use dental implants to secure the denture you already have.

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Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery

Your initial consultation with Dr. Simeone will include discussing whether you need preliminary treatment in the form of bone grafting, periodontal therapy, or even tooth extraction. Should you be required to undergo one or all these procedures, you can expect them to be added to the total cost of your treatment.

Additionally, your dental implant surgery will incur its own fee. Fortunately, because the entire procedure is performed in-house, you won’t need to worry about paying a separate fee to a different implant dentist in Thorndale. Your complete bill will be housed in one location.

The Parts of Your Dental Implant

The parts of your dental implant are also factored into the overall cost of your care:

• How many implants you will need – Replacing a single tooth is much less expensive than an entire arch; however, when you compare traditional dentures to those attached to dental implants, the more permanent solution is much more cost-effective.
• The materials used – Because titanium and zirconia fuse to bone so well, they are the two most common materials used for dental implants.
• The type of restoration – Dental implants in Thorndale are highly versatile, so you can receive an implant crown, bridge, or denture.
• The brand – Numerous manufacturers offer customized dental implants. We will review the various providers and the materials and technologies they use. Our team will partner with you to find the right dental implant at the right price for your unique oral health care needs.

How Dental Implants Can Save You Money

As you consider all your available options, you may begin to think traditional dentures or a dental bridge is more affordable. While you would be right with regard to the upfront costs, the reality is that over time, dental implants will save you more money in the long run. Not only will you not need to buy denture adhesive to keep your prosthetic in place, but you won’t need any special cleaning supplies or frequent adjustments and replacements. Dental implants are designed to last 30 years or more with regular care! Also, by replacing your missing teeth with these permanent prosthetics, you can reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis, diabetes, and heart disease, which are common health conditions that are linked to tooth loss.

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

In most cases, dental insurance still doesn’t provide coverage for dental implants or their surgical placement. However, we will help you to make the most of your dental benefits for other aspects of your treatment plan, including preparatory procedures and replacement teeth.

Making Dental Implants Affordable

During your tooth replacement consultation and treatment planning appointment, we will work with you to plan for the costs of dental care. That starts with our team carefully explaining the out-of-pocket pricing for each step of the process – preparation, implant placement, abutment attachment and restoration design, and the connection of the replacement tooth or teeth. We can explain how much each of your treatment steps will cost. We will also work with patients to receive low and no interest financing through CareCredit, Lending Point, or Lending Club to spread the costs of their dental implant tooth replacement plan over several months.

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

Just like with your home-grown pearly whites, it’s important to establish a thorough oral hygiene routine to regularly clear plaque and tartar from your teeth and gumline. Even though your replacement teeth can’t get cavities, your gums and mouth can still become overrun with bacteria and cause infections to develop. This could result in implant failure, ruining the smile that you’ve worked so hard to obtain. To keep this from happening, it’s important to continue brushing at least twice each day, flossing every day, and rinsing with antimicrobial mouthwash regularly.

Eating a Healthy Diet

Healthy foods can make a big difference when it comes to maintaining your weight. But they can also help you enjoy a healthier, more beautiful smile. Even with dental implants in Thorndale, it’s important that you incorporate fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, lean proteins, and various foods full of calcium and Vitamin C. These will not only strengthen regular tooth enamel, but they’ll also improve gum health, which can help reduce your risk for gum disease. Just be mindful of how much sugar and starch you are consuming, as they are known to cause bacterial growth that can lead to decay and serious infections.

Breaking Bad Habits

If you know you have bad oral habits such as nail-biting, teeth grinding, or smoking, then it’s a good idea to try to quit them or protect your smile before your new dental implants are placed. Teeth grinding can be addressed with our custom-crafted nightguards to help reduce the impact of nightly clenching. However, you’ll need to make a conscious effort to curb or quit smoking or biting your nails. These can both increase your risk of infection and dental implant failure.

Protecting Your Dental Implants

A customized mouthguard is a great investment, especially if you enjoy playing sports or tend to grind your teeth at night while sleeping. These unique oral appliances fit over your upper teeth and absorb any sudden pressure that might harm your pearly whites or soft oral tissues. Instead of rushing to the emergency dental office for immediate care, you can enjoy greater peace of mind knowing your real and artificial teeth are safer with the help of these customized mouthguards.

Scheduling Regular Dental Checkups

One of the best ways to avoid any issues developing with your new dental implants is to schedule semi-annual checkups and cleanings, just like you normally would. This will allow your implant dentist in Thorndale to inspect your mouth and ward off any lingering threats of oral health problems. Plus, if we do spot an issue developing, we’ll be able to quickly treat it and keep it from causing additional damage to your implants.

3D Cone Beam Imaging/3D CT Scanning

Using a 3D Cone Beam Scanner, your dental implant dentist in Thorndale will position your face and head to allow for the device to take a 360-degree scan of your oral and facial structures. Taking hundreds of high-resolution images, Dr. Simeone will be able to view the tissues, teeth, jawbone, gums, sinuses, and nerves throughout your face. The photos taken will combine to create a single three-dimensional image that allows for a thorough examination in preparation for a comprehensive treatment plan.

By evaluating the status of your oral and facial structures with the help of our 3D Cone Beam Scanner, he can determine the density of your bone and whether you will require preliminary treatment before receiving your dental implants (i.e., bone grafting, sinus lift).

Guided Dental Implant Surgery

In combination with the 3D Cone Beam Scanner, Dr. Simeone also uses guided dental implant surgery. This high-tech, advanced method of care uses the 3D image retrieved by the CT Scanner as well as specialized software to create a guide for dental implant placement. This unique device allows our team to identify the exact locations for the dental implants in Thorndale, ensuring both the depth and placement offer maximum stability and support.

Once the guide is printed, it is placed within your mouth on the day of surgery, making the procedure smoother and more seamless.

How Long Do Dental Implants Last?

Dental implants are designed to last a lifetime. For many patients, they last for well over 30 years without any complications — far longer than non-implant forms of tooth replacement. Of course, every case is different. Your overall health and lifestyle choices will play a role in how your implants fare over the long-term. If you stick to a good oral hygiene routine, attend regular dental checkups, and protect your implants from physical trauma, you can expect your new tooth roots to stand the test of time. The restorations on top of dental implants are also quite durable and tend to last for a decade or longer.

Does Getting Dental Implants Hurt?

You should feel little to nothing during the implant placement surgery. Your implant dentist in Thorndale will make sure your mouth is numbed, and you might even be sedated. After the surgery, some swelling and general discomfort are normal. These may last for a few days, or up to a week or longer. Taking pain medications, using a cold compress to manage swelling, and getting plenty of rest can help you get back to feeling like yourself as soon as possible. If you experience any severe or unusual side effects after your surgery, call us right away.

How Long Does It Take to Recover from Dental Implant Surgery?

Sedation usually wears off within 24 hours of when it is administered (nitrous oxide wears off much quicker). Most patients are able to return to work within a day or two after their surgery. However, you might need to take more time off if your job involves strenuous physical activity; it’s best to take it easy for at least a week or so. Bleeding and swelling usually disappear within 3 – 4 days after the procedure. After your soft tissue recovers, your bone will continue to heal; it might take up to six months for the implants to bond with your jaw.

What Can Cause Dental Implants to Fail?

The most common cause of dental implant failure is peri-implantitis, an infection that attacks the tissue around an implant. It can be caused by poor oral hygiene and worsened by things like smoking or a compromised immune system. Another possible reason for implant failure is unsuccessful osseointegration (the implant never bonds properly with the surrounding bone).

Keep in mind that implant failure is quite rare, and we thoroughly consider all risk factors before we approve a patient to move ahead with their implant surgery. The vast majority of patients never have to worry about something going wrong with their restored smile.

What to Do Directly After Dental Implant Surgery

Immediately following your dental implant procedure, you must make sure you have someone escort you home, as it will take time for the anesthesia to wear off. You can expect to spend the remainder of your day resting. You will notice, however, as the medication wears off that soreness and swelling will occur, as will some minor bleeding. You can use clean gauze to manage the bleeding and take an over-the-counter pain reliever (or doctor-prescribed medication) to relieve discomfort.

You will also need to make sure you do not use a straw or smoke for at least 24 hours. This can dislodge your blood clots and make healing much more difficult.

Common Side Effects

Oral surgery often results in various side effects. Some of the most common ones you can expect include minor bleeding, slight swelling, and soreness. Your implant dentist in Doylestown does not want you to be alarmed, as this is all part of the healing process. Swelling should not last longer than a week, and bleeding should only occur for a few days. If you notice that your pain increases over time, make sure to call our dental office immediately.

Diet

Eating a liquid and soft food diet during these initial months will make a drastic difference in the efficiency of your recovery. Hard and crunchy foods should be avoided as well as solid foods (at least for the first few months). However, there are many appropriate options you can consume that are rich in nutrients and won’t place additional pressure on your healing implants, bone, and tissues. These include:

• Pasta
• Scrambled eggs
• Yogurt
• Ice cream
• Pudding
• Warm soups
• Mashed potatoes
• And more!

Health & Oral Hygiene

Taking care of your teeth and gums during your recovery is essential. Although you may not feel as if you should be brushing and flossing, it is necessary if you want to avoid the potential for an infection that can lead to dental implant failure. The day after your surgery, you can expect to clean your teeth like normal, just be mindful when navigating your surgical sites. You can also rinse your mouth 2-3 times a day with warm salt water or a prescription mouthwash provided by Dr. Simeone.

What to Do After Your New Teeth Are Attached

Once your dental implants in Thorndale are finally attached, you can begin to enjoy your new smile! Some sensitivity of your gums may occur but should not last long. You don’t need to expect any swelling, bleeding, or soreness but instead, a full, complete, and functional smile you can be proud to show off to the world!