Dental Implants – Rocky Mount, NC
Gain A Strong, Beautiful Smile for Life
In the old days, if you were missing teeth, you had to settle for options like bridges or dentures. Luckily, those days are long gone, thanks to dental implants from our Rocky Mount, NC dentist. They look, feel, and function like natural teeth because of a titanium anchor attached to the jawbone. Dental implants can be used to support bridges, partials, or full dentures to eliminate slipping. Contact us today for a consultation to see if dental implants are the right choice for you to gain a strong, beautiful smile for life.
Why Choose Drs. Belton & Schrimper, DDS PA for Dental Implants?
- 100% Custom-Made Dental Implant Restorations
- State-of-the-Art Dental Office
- Friendly & Highly-Experienced Dental Team
What are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is essentially a prosthetic tooth root made of titanium. This metal is not only extremely strong, but biocompatible as well. Once an implant is placed into the jawbone, it directly bonds with the surrounding tissue just like a real root. When this process (called osseointegration) is complete, an implant can then be attached to a crown, bridge, or denture to restore the visible part of the tooth/teeth.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
While every dental implant treatment in Rocky Mount that we complete at Drs. Belton & Schrimper General Dentistry vary depending on our patients’ individual needs, there are four main steps that you can expect from the process. Below, our team offers you a general overview of these steps, allowing you to better understand what your journey towards a whole and healthy smile will look like. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, we invite you to schedule your initial consultation with us today!
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
We kick off every dental implant treatment planning process with an in-depth consultation. This typically involves capturing diagnostic images like X-rays, as well as a thorough examination of your teeth and mouth from either Dr. Belton, Dr. Schrimper, or Dr. Perry. Based on our team’s observations, we can outline a treatment plan for you to let you know whether you require preparatory treatments or if you can move right on to the next step of the process, which is dental implant placement.
Dental Implant Surgery
Our team partners with local dental implant placement specialists for the surgical placement part of this treatment in order to achieve the ideal results. This will include creating a small window in the gumline that will allow the oral surgeon or periodontist to secure the dental implants within the jawbone to replace the missing root structure of your teeth. Many of our patients are able to return to work within a day or two of their procedure.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Attachment
After your dental implant placement, you’ll undergo a lengthy integration period, where your dental implants will naturally fuse with your jawbone through a process called osseointegration. This typically takes place over the next three to six months after your surgery. After your gums have healed and osseointegration has occurred, our team will refer you back to the specialist to attach small metal connector pieces to the tops of your implants, called abutments.
Securing the Final Restorations
As you’re healing from your abutment attachment, our team will be working with our partnered dental laboratory to craft your permanent, aesthetically flawless replacement teeth. Once they’re complete, the lab will send them back to our office to have you try them on and make any final adjustments. This last step will complete your treatment and provide you with a smile that can last for several decades with good home dental hygiene and professional maintenance!
Benefits of Dental Implants
With over half a million dental implants placed each year, these durable, lifelike restorations are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to replace missing teeth. Thanks to their unique placement inside the jawbone, dental implants provide an array of important benefits you simply can’t get with other options like dental bridges and dentures. Dental implants truly have the potential to dramatically improve your confidence, health, and your overall quality of life.
Day-to-Day Benefits
Dental implants have several daily benefits that patients can enjoy in their everyday life. These include:
- The ability to chew all your favorite foods, including tougher cuts of meat, crunchy fruits and vegetables, and hard seeds and nuts.
- Easier brushing and flossing to help keep your smile clean and healthy for a lifetime.
- The ability to smile with confidence once again, without the fear of embarrassment from missing teeth or slipping dentures.
Health Benefits
In addition to their amazing daily benefits, dental implants also have a variety of health benefits such as:
- Maintaining a strong, healthy jawbone.
- Supporting your surrounding natural teeth.
- Allowing you to eat a nutritious, delicious diet.
- Not causing uncomfortable tooth sensitivity and painful sores like dental bridges and dentures do.
- Easier maintenance and cleaning mean you’ll benefit from better oral and overall health.
Long-Term Benefits
Finally, the long-term benefits of dental implants are undeniable, and include:
- A 95% success rate, even 10 years after placement.
- Your dental implants won’t need to be replaced every five to ten years like dentures or dental bridges.
- Permanently investing in your smile can potentially save you a lot of time and money when compared to other tooth replacement options.
Indications for Dental Implants
No matter the circumstances behind your tooth loss, it’s possible to replace them with dental implants. Furthermore, no matter how many teeth you’re missing, there’s a dental implant option out there for you. The only differences would be the number of implants placed and the types of restorations applied.
Missing Single Tooth
For a single missing tooth, just one titanium post would be surgically inserted into your jawbone. Over a few months, your jawbone will fuse with the post in a process called osseointegration. Once that process is complete, either Dr. Schrimper or Dr. Belton will place an all-ceramic crown on top of your implant to give it the natural feel and function you deserve.
Missing Multiple Teeth
If you’re missing several teeth in a row, not to worry. We can place a dental implant on either side of the gap in your smile, and place a dental bridge in between. A bridge is a row of prosthetic teeth with dental crowns on either side. These crowns are placed on the implants on the edges of the gap in your grin. Because the crowns are placed on dental implants, they won’t require any alteration of your remaining natural teeth in the same way that regular bridgework might.
Missing All Teeth
Traditional dentures used to be your only option if you were missing all of your teeth. Now, you can receive dentures held in place by dental implants. An average of four to six dental implants will be strategically placed throughout your jawbone in the areas where they will receive the most support. That way, even if you have undergone some jawbone loss from missing teeth, you may still be able to get implant-retained dentures. These dentures are more secure than traditional ones, eliminating unexpected slippage.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
- How many implants you’re getting
- Which restoration you’re receiving
- Any preliminary procedures you need, like a bone graft or gum disease treatment
- Whether your insurance covers implants