Dental Implants — Tallahassee, FL
Rebuild Your
Smile for Life
If you’re one of the over 120 million Americans who is currently missing at least one tooth, then you’re probably well aware of the headaches tooth loss can cause. In addition to making chewing and speaking uncomfortable or even virtually impossible, it can also be tremendously damaging to your appearance, making you less likely to be social. Thankfully, dental implants now offer a replacement that is the next best thing to nature. With dental implants in Tallahassee, FL, Dr. Rasmussen can close any gaps in your smile and help you reclaim your strong bite for decades to come. To learn more about them and what they could do for you, schedule a consultation today.
Why Choose Periodontics and Implant Dentistry of Tallahassee for Dental Implants?
- All-On-4: Restore An Entire Row of Teeth in One Appointment
- Able to Replace Any Number of Teeth In-House
- Treatment Provided by a Board-Certified Periodontist
What Are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is a small titanium post that is surgically placed into the jawbone beneath the gums’ surface to recreate the root structure of a missing tooth. It is then used to provide support for a new crown, bridge, or denture that shows above the gum line. Once the implant has fully healed, you can expect your replacement tooth to last for many decades and feel almost indistinguishable from your existing teeth. Chewing your favorite foods, smiling with confidence, and performing oral hygiene are simple, seamless, and enjoyable once again. These reasons and more are why dentists recommend dental implants over traditional options every day!
The Dental Implant Process
Before beginning, we will ensure that you are numb, comfortable, and ready to begin your surgery. Next, Dr. Rasmussen will create a tiny incision in your gums to access your jawbone. Then, he will make a small hole in the bone for the placement of your implant. Once it’s placed, you’ll leave our office to begin a 4 to 6 monthlong healing period. After this is complete, you’ll come back into our office, where Dr. Rasmussen will place your permanent crown, bridge, or denture on top of the implant to restore your entire tooth from the roots up.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants are very different from traditional bridges and dentures that just sit on top of the gums. Instead, Dr. Rasmussen places small titanium posts into the jawbone that act as artificial tooth roots, and these are used to support the new teeth. This approach brings with it a host of advantages:
- Self-Stabilizing: Implanted teeth sit within strong jawbone just like real ones, enabling a patient to eat whatever they like without having to deal with slippage or breakage.
- Aesthetically Pleasing: Every implant post is topped with a 100% custom-made restoration, and because implants don’t require unnatural-looking attachments to stay in place, this gives them a lifelike appearance that blends into anyone’s smile.
- Bone Preservation: The jawbone tends to atrophy after tooth loss, but implants can help stimulate the bone and lead to the growth of new tissue right where it’s needed. This ensures the remaining teeth stay strong and the facial muscles always have adequate support (which can prevent the formation of wrinkles).
- Reliable: When placed by a specially-trained dentist like Dr. Rasmussen, implants can easily endure for multiple decades, often lasting for the rest of a patient’s life!
Who Dental Implants Can Help
In order to be a good candidate for dental implants, a patient needs decent oral health and a jawbone strong enough to support the new roots. If either of these is lacking, Dr. Rasmussen can help (see “Advanced Dental Implant Procedures” below). Once he determines that a patient’s mouth is in good enough shape to safely receive implants, he can place the posts, which can be paired with a variety of restorations depending on a patient’s needs.
Missing One Tooth
A single implant can be placed into the jawbone between two healthy teeth and topped with a porcelain crown without disturbing the nearby dental structure at all. This is much less invasive compared to a bridge, in which the neighboring teeth have to be filed down to support the prosthetic.
Missing Multiple Teeth
For consecutive missing teeth or those located throughout the mouth, implants can also serve as the foundation for a bridge or partial denture. This gives the prosthetics a strength and security removable ones simply can’t match.
Missing All Teeth
Even people missing all of their teeth along a single row can benefit from implant dentistry. Using a small number of implant roots, a full denture can be anchored to the jawbone that looks better, provides a stronger bite, and lasts longer than any traditional one.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
There’s no one answer when it comes to the ultimate price of dental implants. The procedure will be different for everybody depending on their situation, and as such the cost will vary as well. At the start of the process, Dr. Rasmussen will schedule an in-person consultation in order to examine and discuss the various factors that could affect the final amount you’ll pay. Call Periodontics & Implant Dentistry now to start the implant process and learn the true cost of a complete smile.
Types of Dental Implants
The first question we’ll need to answer is: how many teeth are missing? A single implant is enough to fill in a single gap, but when you’ve lost multiple teeth, the exact number of posts you’ll need depends on the situation. Two dental implants and a fixed bridge can replace 3 to 6 teeth in a row. If an entire arch is gone, full dentures can be supported by as few as 4 implants. Obviously, the exact number of implants needed and the kind of prosthetic tooth or teeth they support have a significant influence on the final cost of the procedure.
What are the Stages of Dental Implant Treatment?
During your consultation, Dr. Rasmussen will lay out the different stages involved in the process and explain how much you can expect to pay for each. You can normally expect the procedure to involve surgery to place the implants as well as the attachment of an abutment; receiving prosthetic teeth is usually the final step and can take multiple visits. Keep in mind that some patients will need to pay for additional treatments. Implants are more likely to fail if you don’t have enough bone density in your jaw or if your gums are currently infected; such oral health issues need to be taken care of before anything else.
Are Dental Implants Worth the Investment?
While dental implants initially seem to cost more than other kinds of tooth replacement, they’re certainly worth the price. Not only do they look and feel natural while letting you chew all your favorite foods, but they can also prevent resorption in the jaw (the natural consequence of losing teeth).
Unlike other restorations, dental implants can potentially last the rest of your life. This can make them the most cost-effective option since you won’t have to pay for new ones nearly as often. Of course, if you want to make sure you get the most out of your investment, you should make sure your implants are being placed by an expert; fortunately, Dr. Rasmussen is a board-certified periodontist who is well experienced in performing this particular procedure.
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
Many plans won’t pay for implants, but others might; it all depends on who your carrier is. Bear in mind that even if your insurance won’t pay for the posts themselves, it may help cover certain related procedures such as treatment for gum disease. Our practice offers in-network savings, but we’re more than happy to file a claim for an out-of-network provider or offer third-party financing through CareCredit.
Dental Implant Technology
Using 3D imaging, Dr. Rasmussen is able to create a highly-detailed model of a patient’s jawbone and surrounding oral structures. This helps him take all the guesswork out of someone’s implant placement procedure. He can identify the perfect locations within the jawbone for the new roots, determine the thickness of the bone, and even figure out the angle the implant should be placed at to provide the strongest foundation possible for the new teeth. By the time the actual procedure starts, a positive result is practically guaranteed.
Advanced Dental Implant Procedures
To become a periodontist, Dr. Rasmussen had to complete years of specialty training on top of dental school that was specifically dedicated to placing dental implants. Because of this, he’s able to use the latest technology and help many patients who typically wouldn’t be able to get implants using various bone grafts. This enables even more people to enjoy the most complete tooth replacement available today. Read on below to learn about some of the advanced dental implant procedures for Tallahassee, FL dental patients that can rebuild your smile.
Bone Grafting
Once a tooth goes missing, the jawbone in the area slowly starts to shrink and atrophy. This is because the body senses that there is no tooth to support, so it begins to resorb nutrients directly from the bone. This can make it too thin or brittle to support dental implants. With a bone graft, however, Dr. Rasmussen can use a patient’s own bone, donated bone, or a lab-made grafting material to reverse this process and encourage the growth of new, healthy tissue. A bone graft can usually be completed in a single appointment, and after just a few months of healing, a patient who previously wasn’t able to get dental implants will now be ready to receive their new roots.
3D Imaging
Using 3D imaging, Dr. Rasmussen is able to create a highly-detailed model of a patient’s jawbone and surrounding oral structures. This helps him take all the guesswork out of someone’s implant placement procedure. He can identify the perfect locations within the jawbone for the new roots, determine the thickness of the bone, and even figure out the angle the implant should be placed at to provide the strongest foundation possible for the new teeth. By the time the actual procedure starts, a positive result is practically guaranteed.
Bone Regeneration
In addition to the gums themselves, gum disease can also break down the underlying jawbone that supports the hard and soft tissues of the mouth. This is largely why gum disease is the leading cause of adult tooth loss in the U.S! For patients who have experienced this, bone regeneration is used to build the jawbone back up so it can be strong and thick enough to support an implant. A collagen membrane is applied directly to the bone where it needs to grow, and this material stimulates the generation of new tissue exactly where a patient is lacking.
Ridge Preservation
Often, before a patient receives dental implants, any broken or decayed teeth have to be removed. In order to ensure that implants can be placed as quickly as possible after an extraction, the surrounding bone must be looked after. Ridge preservation is a procedure that helps protect and strengthen the nearby jawbone that used to support a tooth so it will be thick enough to hold an implant. Depending on a patient’s specific situation, this treatment can be performed on the same day as an extraction.
Dental Implant Salvage
Even if your dental implant fails, something that is extremely unlikely to happen when you practice routine oral hygiene, there are ways to save it and prevent the need from removing it outright. Our office is prepared to confirm any problems and create a treatment plan that works to restore your smile.
Learn More About Dental Implant Salvage
Dental Implant FAQs
Many, many people are interested in getting dental implants to replace their missing teeth, but they’re full of questions. If this includes you—great! Just considering this treatment is a huge step forward and shows that you are taking your oral health seriously. Below, you’ll find answers to some of the frequently asked dental implant questions our team receives every day. For questions that haven’t been touched on here, be sure to give us a call and ask!
Are dental implants better than traditional bridges/dentures?
The answer to this really depends on the patient and their specific situation, but side by side, dental implants offer the most natural-looking, secure, and reliable tooth replacement compared to every other treatment. If a patient is a good candidate for them, Dr. Rasmussen always highly recommends implants.
How long does it take to get dental implants?
This can vary depending on a patient’s oral health and how many teeth they would like to replace. Simple cases that involve a single tooth can often be completed in four to six months, while more complicated ones that include replacing several teeth with a denture may take closer to a year. To learn what your particular timeline will be like, we need to see you for an in-person consultation.
Does getting dental implants hurt?
Most patients describe feeling very little during the placement procedure thanks to local anesthetic, though a little soreness and swelling is common afterward. This can usually be managed with over-the-counter pain medication and will quickly subside, and most patients are able to resume their normal routine within a few days.
Why should I visit a periodontist to get dental implants?
Periodontists like Dr. Rasmussen have received training specifically dedicated to placing dental implants, unlike many general dentists. When you visit Dr. Rasmussen, you can trust he has performed whatever procedure you need countless times before and already used it to help innumerable patients recover their missing teeth. He’s also able to provide many advanced services that will make the treatment process faster, more comfortable, and more successful.
Maintaining & Caring for Your Dental Implants
Whether you’re thinking about dental implant treatment to replace missing teeth or you just got out of surgery, you can expect your new smile to last for many decades without concern. However, like any long-term investment, you’ll want to make sure you take proper care of it moving forward. If you are unfamiliar with what dental implant aftercare in Tallahassee looks like, Dr. Rasmussen is here to answer your questions. If you have yet to set up an implant consultation or you need to complete a follow-up exam for your current implants, give our office a call!
Make Oral Hygiene a Priority
It’s true that dental implants hold restorations that are made from inorganic material (porcelain), which means they cannot develop decay like natural enamel can. However, that does not mean you can skip your oral care routine. Bacteria can still attack the gum tissue surrounding the implant, further proving the importance of maintaining brushing and flossing every day.
To ensure the best oral care routine possible, make sure to:
- Brush twice a day for at least two minutes at a time
- Use fluoridated toothpaste to kill cavity-causing bacteria
- Floss once a day to remove food debris stuck in between teeth (and from the area underneath the restoration)
- Use an optional oral rinse for added protection
- Make sure not to brush too hard as this can cause gum recession
Protect Your Dental Implants
Dental implants are made from high-quality, durable, and lifelike porcelain to ensure the best longevity possible for your tooth replacement. However, that does not make them indestructible. Much like natural teeth, implant restorations need to be regularly protected from forced sudden trauma or long-term habits that can break them down. This includes injuries that could occur while playing contact sports or habits like teeth grinding and clenching (also known as bruxism.)
The good news is you can easily avoid permanent damage to your replacement teeth by wearing a mouthguard or nightguard, depending on your needs. Ideally, you’ll want to choose a custom-made nightguard as they are far more effective at protecting teeth, last longer, and feel more comfortable overall compared to store-bought solutions. Our office will gladly partner you with a trusted dentist in the area to design your future oral appliance.
Schedule Regular Dental Checkups
Even if there are no issues with your dental implant, it is still crucial that you maintain routine follow-up appointments with our office immediately after your implants are placed. These visits are separate from the routine exams and cleanings you are already doing every six months. Not only can Dr. Rasmussen confirm the health of your dental implant, but he can also make sure if there are any signs of trouble that need to be addressed.
Once your implant is placed, we need to make sure that the healing process goes as planned and that your mouth does not reject the implant after it’s attached to the jawbone. Furthermore, we want to confirm that no underlying symptoms (i.e. inflammation, swelling, gum recession etc.) are present, all which are signs of a dental infection caused by the implant. Even though this is unlikely to occur, it’s better to be safe rather than sorry.
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