Increasingly more patients in Encinitas/San Diego who’ve experienced tooth loss are experiencing the many benefits that dental implants offer. The unique dental prosthetics, which are designed to replace your lost teeth roots, create the most lifelike support system for a dental crown, bridge, or denture. Not only does that translate into significantly improved comfort and stability, but also several important advantages for the long-term health and integrity of your smile. Today, we examine how you can determine if you’re a good candidate for dental implants.
Analyzing Your Periodontal Health
Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is the leading cause of tooth loss for adults in the U.S. Therefore, it’s also a serious consideration for many patients who wish to replace their lost teeth with dental implants. Periodontal disease damages the gums and jawbone that support your teeth roots, and that must also be healthy enough to support your dental implants. If you have gum disease, then your periodontist will recommend an appropriate treatment and maintenance plan to restore your periodontal health before you receive dental implants.
Ensuring Proper Support
Along with healthy gums, your dental implant posts will also rely on strong, healthy jawbone structure to properly support them. In severe cases of periodontal disease, or when teeth roots have been absent for several years, the jawbone can lose mass and density, making it weak and unable to offer adequate support. To strengthen it, your periodontist may recommend jawbone grafting, which utilizes donor tissue to fortify the weakened areas of your jawbone.
Receiving Your Implant Posts
Receiving your dental implants requires oral surgery to place the posts strategically within your jawbone. Before recommending the procedure, your periodontist will thoroughly examine your medical and oral health history, current medical conditions, and medications to ensure that you can safely undergo the surgical procedure. That includes the use of dental sedation, which is often necessary to complete the procedure comfortably and in a time-efficient manner.
Ask us if you qualify for dental implants
If you’ve lost one or more teeth, then find out if you’re a good candidate for replacing them with lifelike dental implants. For more information, schedule a consultation with Dr. Kania by calling her periodontal office in Encinitas/San Diego, CA, at (760) 642-0711.