Dental Implants in Langley

If your teeth are removed or missing, dental implant surgery may be an option for you. We help patients at our Langley clinic, just like you, restore their smiles and improve their biting with dental implants using a 3D cone beam scan. A dental implant involves posts being inserted into jaw bone to simulate a real tooth.

These metal posts are a technologically advanced post and are a good option when there's not enough of a tooth's root left to use bridges or dentures for tooth replacement. Since your jaw and dental structure are vital to implant success, we'll conduct a thorough dental examination first.

The exam will determine what procedures may be necessary to perform dental implant surgery. You may need multiple procedures, but in the end, a dental implant offers solid support for your new teeth.

Once we've inserted the post into your jawbone, we'll need to wait until the bone heals around the implant. Bone healing is the longest part of the procedure and can take months to occur. But once healed, your dental implants will look almost identical to your natural teeth – or even better.

Components of a dental implant

Why We Recommend Dental Implants at our Langley Office

Restoring your smile and bite is difficult when there's no root for a denture or bridge to attach to in your mouth. So, dental implants are surgically placed into your jawbone using titanium posts. Dental implants won't slip and won't need to be removed from your mouth every night.

Compared to bridgework or dentures implant materials won't decay or require fillings. For example, titanium is extremely strong, durable and resistant. However, bridgework can deteriorate over time, causing you to schedule more dental appointments to have the bridge repaired or replaced.

We take many factors into account to determine whether local Langley dental implants are the ideal choice for you. A few of the reasons that dental implants may be a good choice is if you have:

When you can commit months to the dental implant process, don't want to wear dentures or can't, and want to improve your speech, dental implants are a good option. Dental implants are not a good option for people who smoke or chew tobacco.

3 unit implant bridge
Single dental implant
Dental implant fixed bridge
All on 4 implant denture

Preparing for Implant Surgery

The first step in the implant process is a comprehensive examination at a dentists office. We need to be sure that you're a good candidate for dental implants, and this starts with a thorough dental exam with the dentist. The exam may include:

We'll also take the time to review your medical history. The dentist will need to know if you have any medical conditions and in addition, we'll need to know if you take prescription and over-the-counter medications and/or supplements. There are times when we'll prescribe antibiotics to prevent infection. Patients are at higher risk of infection when they have orthopedic implants in their body.

Once we have all of the facts and a good understanding of your medical history and dental needs, we'll develop a treatment plan specifically for you. Our plan will look at your dental situation as a whole and be based on the position of your remaining teeth, your jawbone condition, the shade of your teeth and how many teeth we'll need to replace. Pain is possible, so we'll also develop a strategy to control your pain.

A few of the options to control pain are:

Our team will instruct you on which option we think is best for you for dental implant treatment. We'll also discuss your responsibilities before the surgery, such as when you need to stop eating or drinking, depending on the anesthetic chosen.

We do ask that you have someone who can drive you home following surgery if taking sedation medication. It would be best if you also planned to have the entire day off because you will need to rest for the day after surgery. However, if possible, try and have two days off for good measure.

What You Can Expect During Surgery

A quick and simple overview of your dental surgery is as follows:

The entire procedure is done outpatient and in multiple stages. First, we have to allow the healing process to occur naturally, which takes time.

Traditionally, it takes months from the first exam to the final attachment of your dental implants. We must wait for the bone and gums to heal. Then, bone growth must also occur.

We always try to combine as many procedures as possible to speed up your implant process. So, when you're in our office, we'll better understand how long the dental implants will take.

When is Bone Grafting Required?

Grafting dental implants are required if your jawbone is too soft or simply not thick enough to confidently hold the implant post in place. When you chew, the jaw has immense power that puts pressure on the jawbone.

If the jaw does require a graft, this means that your bone is unlikely to support an implant naturally. The surgery may fail if we recommend a bone graft procedure, and you choose not to have it done.

Grafting creates a solid base that enables the dental implant to be successful. We can use multiple materials for a bone graft, including:

Lateral sinus lift surgery for a dental implant
Packing of bone graft material into an open sinus
Lateral sinus lift and bone grafting

The dentist will discuss which bone grafting options are ideal for you and your jaw bone structure. The key most important thing is to be sure that the bone structure can support the dental implants. Bone graft heal times depend on how much bone grafting is necessary.

First, we'll need to examine your jawbone to determine if a minor or significant bone graft is necessary. Major bone grafts require healing time before the dental implant can be placed. But if a minor bone graft is needed, we may be able to perform it simultaneously during your dental implant surgery.

How The Process Works for Tooth Replacement

Dental implant surgery is complicated, but you can expect the process to go as follows:

Since the post serves as a tooth's root, it must be implanted deep into the bone. As a result, the post will leave a gap in your mouth where the tooth is missing. However, over the course of a few months, the jawbone will heal and grow into the dental implant.

During the healing process, a partial or temporary denture will be placed if necessary. If the missing tooth is visible, these dentures provide a way to restore your smile while waiting for the healing process to complete. Once healed, the dental implant will be as solid and secure as your natural tooth's root.

Placing the Abutment

Once the bone has healed appropriately, the abutment process can begin. Considered a surgical procedure, the abutment will be placed and is where the new crown isattached. Local anesthesia is necessary, and you'll return home the same day as the procedure.

Abutment coping on implants

When we place the abutment, it will follow the process below:

We may attach the abutment to the dental implant post to help reduce the number of times you need to come into the office. Reducing the number of times surgery is necessary is our primary goal.

The abutment will be visible due to it being placed right past your natural gumline.The good news is that you won't see the abutment unless you open your mouth. Once healed, for the final step of the cosmetic process we'll attach the artificial tooth so that you can smile with confidence once again.

How to Choose Your Artificial Teeth

Once the gum has healed, we can finally get to the most exciting part of the dental implant process: choosing your artificial teeth. First, we'll take the time to make more impressions of your remaining teeth and your mouth. The images allow us to make a crown that looks as natural as possible.

The crown is placed when the jawbone can support the new tooth. You'll have two main types of teeth to choose from:

We'll discuss both of these options with you to determine which type of dental implants are ideal for your jaw.

What to Expect After the Dental Procedure

Dental implants do require a surgical procedure, which can result in:

We may recommend pain medications and prescribe antibiotics following surgery to ease pain and reduce infection risk. You'll need to eat soft foods while the surgical site heals.

We're likely to use dissolvable stitches so that we don't need to remove them in our Langley office.

Note: Are you still suffering from pain or discomfort several days after dental implant surgery and time isn't helping? Be sure to contact us immediately.

Surgical Risks

Any time that you have surgery, there are risks involved. We always do our best to minimize the complications involved with dental implant surgery. However, there are still risks, although it's important to call us so we can treat the issue.

You may experience one or a combination of the following risks:

Infections of implants 14 and 15 - CT scan

We'll discuss all of these risks with you before the procedure. Our team will work to minimize and identify potential risks before the procedure.

Traumatic nerve injury from an implant

Increasing Success after Placement

Approximately 90% to 95% of dental implants last for ten years or longer. However, there are rare cases where the fusing of the bone and dental implant fails.

Smoking is often a reason for dental implants failing. Increasing your chance of implant success requires you to follow good oral hygiene practices. You'll want to brush your teeth with a toothbrush and a special interdental brush that removes debris between the teeth.

It's essential to remove any food from around the metal posts of the implant or gums.We also recommend that you schedule routine dental cleanings and exams at our Langley clinic. Exams allow us to take a look at your implant to ensure stability while also cleaning your teeth.

What Happens If a Dental Implant Fails?

If an implant failure occurs, we'll remove the implant and clean up the bone. Then,we can retry in three to six months.

Current Information: Should I Get Dental Implants or Dentures?

If you're missing teeth, we may recommend either dental implants or dentures. Dentures are removable and replace your missing teeth and gums if necessary.

The denture base is made with pink acrylic to match the color of your natural gums. Partial or complete dentures are an option, and a lightweight metal frame may be used. Completed dentures are recommended when you have no upper or lower teeth. These dentures rest along your gums.

Partial dentures will fill in missing teeth and attach to any remaining teeth you may have.

Advantages of Dentures

Disadvantages of Dentures

Advantages of Dental Implants

Disadvantages of Dental Implants

In terms of paying for dentures, insurance is likely to cover dentures. However, insurance may not cover the cost of dental implant surgery. Implants are more durable and long-lasting. Over the long-term, implants preserve bone and gum tissue, while dentures do not.

Dental implants also require traditional brushing and improve your appearance better than dentures. If you're considering tooth dental implants or dentures, schedule an appointment with us to discuss your options with a dentist.

Book appointment
BOOK
NOW