Dental Implant Team
Dental implants are one of the best ways to restore one or more missing teeth! If you are considering a dental implant, it is important to know everything that is involved and who is involved in your care. There will be a number of dental professionals providing care to you when you receive a dental implant including: your general dentist, an oral surgeon or periodontist, a dental lab, and your dental hygienist. Each dental professional is crucial to the successful placement, fabrication, restoration, and maintenance of your dental implant.
Your general dentist will be the first professional to assess your ability to have a dental implant. If they believe you might be a good candidate, they will refer you to an implant specialist for further evaluation. Below, we will review each team member and discuss how they will play a role in your implant care.
Placing Your Implant: Oral Surgeon or Periodontist
An Oral Surgeon or a Periodontist is the dental professional who will surgically place your dental implant. Implant placement surgery is a one visit appointment unless you need a bone graft prior to your implant. Your doctor will numb the area being treated with a local anesthetic injection and proceed by making a small incision in the gum tissue. They will then drill a small hole into your jawbone and place your titanium implant. The gum tissue is then stitched up in a manner that allows a small portion of the implant to protrude through the gum tissue. This part is covered with a temporary abutment, or healing cap, to protect it from damage and infection while you heal for up to six months.
During your healing time, your implant doctor will see you periodically for follow up appointments to make sure that everything is healing properly. After each visit, they will send an update report to your general dentist to apprise them of your progress. At your final appointment, they will let you know that you are ready for restoration and will send a letter to your general dentist stating the same.
Restoring Your Implant: Your General Dentist
After your implant doctor communicates to your Dentist that your implant is ready for restoration, your Dentist will have you come in for a quick appointment to take impressions of your mouth. Your Dentist will use these impressions to make models which they will send to the dental lab who will use the models to fabricate your implant restoration. This restoration can be an individual dental crown, a bridge, or a full or partial denture. Once your dentist receives your case from the lab, usually about two weeks later, they will have you come back for a second appointment to try in your implant restoration. At this appointment, they will make sure everything is perfect: the contacts, your bite, and the shade. If everything is perfect, they can permanently place your restoration on your implant. If not, they will send it back to the lab with the adjustments that need to be made noted for the lab.
Maintaining Your Implant: Dental Hygienist
Now that your implant is complete, your dental hygienist will help you with the maintenance of your implant. Your hygienist will play a key role in keeping your implant as well as the rest of your mouth healthy, to make sure it lasts as long as possible! Implant patients often benefit from more frequent professional cleanings than the typical every-six-months as implant care is a lifetime commitment. Once a year, your hygienist will take an x-ray of the implant and surrounding bone structure and will take measurements of your gum pockets, all of which is then sent to your implant doctor to keep them current on the status of your implant.
At your routine cleanings, your hygienist will assess your implant every time they see you. At these appointments, they will:
- Evaluate your gum tissue to make sure it is healthy and pink
- Check the mobility of your implant to make sure it is stable and secure
- Perform plaque control using ultrasonic and hand held scaling instruments
You should discuss any issues you have experienced including any pain or sensitivity. Your hygienist will also make sure you know how to properly clean your teeth and implant at home and will provide you with the tools you need to keep everything healthy!
Communication among your dental providers is vital to the care and treatment of your dental implant. Dental implants are one of the best ways to restore missing teeth and though they do not necessarily require any special attention on your part, it is important that you visit your Dentist regularly at the interval advised and that you have x-rays taken when needed. The only way to catch a problem with the actual implant is with x-rays so they are crucial to the success of your implant!
Temporary Tooth for Dental Implants