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Dental Implants Cary
Turning Gaps Into Confident, Complete Smiles
Dr. Bell’s advanced training allows him to not only place dental implants in-house but also restore them, providing patients dealing with tooth loss with a more natural-looking and long-term solution. If you want permanent results that allow you to smile more confidently, call us to schedule a consultation at our office in Cary.
Why Choose Win Bell, DDS for Dental Implants?
- One-Stop Shop for Dental Implant Placement & Restoration
- Dentist Complete Advanced Training at Triangle Dental Institute
- Friendly Dental Team That Treats You Like an Individual
What Are Dental Implants?
Made of titanium and built to mimic tooth roots, dental implants can make it easy to smile, enjoy a meal, and talk to others without a care in the world. As the lower part of the root-to-crown prosthetic, a dental implant sits within the jawbone and fuses over time. The stabilized foundation it creates offers support to a customized crown, bridge, or denture, depending on how many teeth you are missing.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
In most cases, Dr. Bell can perform the entire implant process in our Cary dental office, avoiding the need for a referral to an outside specialist. Your journey to a healthier, complete smile will look different than another patient’s, but the same four steps are required to ensure optimal success. Take a look at each stage of treatment to understand what you can expect along the way.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
To learn how dental implants work in Cary, you must meet Dr. Bell for a consultation. This visit will include an evaluation of your oral and overall health as well as your jawbone density. Based on his findings, which will consist of a visual examination and enhanced digital imaging, he will determine if you require preliminary treatment or are cleared to move forward with dental implant surgery.
If additional treatment is necessary, such as gum disease therapy, bone grafting, or tooth extraction, trust that these procedures will position your smile to receive dental implants more readily when it’s time for surgery.
Dental Implant Surgery
Using local anesthesia, Dr. Bell will numb your mouth so that you feel no pain during the surgical placement of each dental implant. When ready, he will create small openings in your gums and place each implant post into its designated area along the jawbone. After ensuring the position, he will close the gum tissues and place protective healing caps over each post to promote proper healing.
Dental Implant Osseointegration/Abutment
While your mouth heals at home, osseointegration will occur, which can take 3-6 months. This process involves your implants fusing with your jawbone, establishing a firm foundation for your new, permanent smile.
Once Dr. Bell is satisfied with your healing process, you will return to our office to receive your metal abutments. These are small attachments that sit atop each implant and hold your restoration in place.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
Attaching your custom crown, bridge, or denture is the final step of the dental implant process. We will take impressions early on in the process so that lab technicians can fabricate your new teeth according to the specifications provided. When they are ready, Dr. Bell will review the lifelike restoration to ensure it meets yours (and his) expectations. Only then will he secure the restoration in place, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of a full, complete, and healthy smile.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants deliver advantages that cannot be matched by other treatments. That’s how they were deemed the “gold standard” in tooth replacement! If you are interested in learning a little more about the perks that they offer, then this next section is for you.
Day-to-Day Benefits
Once you’ve healed from the procedure and the restoration is secured in place, you’ll enjoy the following benefits of dental implants in Cary:
- Easy Maintenance – While other tooth-replacement solutions require special cleaning products, dental implants do not. In fact, you can use the same best practices that you do to maintain your natural teeth, like brushing for two full minutes each morning and evening.
- Improved Self-Esteem – Whether your dental implant is topped with a dental crown or a full denture, you can trust that the final result will look and feel extremely lifelike. As a result, you don’t have to worry about unwanted attention being drawn to your smile!
- Stronger Bite – Like many other patients, you may have been stuck eating applesauce, plain yogurt, and other extremely soft foods due to tooth loss. Fortunately, dental implants are secured to your jawbone, so you’ll be able to enjoy a wide range of foods again.
Health Benefits
Dental implants also have the potential to benefit your health in the following ways:
- Eat a More Varied, Well-Balanced Diet – As we mentioned above, you can eat a wider variety of foods with dental implants, ensuring you get the nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that your body needs to stay healthy.
- Lower Risk of Dental Drift – Since dental implants are secured directly to your jawbone and fill the gaps in your smile, they help keep your natural teeth from shifting (a phenomenon known as dental drift).
- Improved Overall Health – In short, dental implants reduce your risk of systemic health problems that have been linked to tooth loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Long-Term Benefits
Although the upfront cost of dental implants is usually higher, they often end up being the best option for your smile and your wallet because:
- They Have a Long Lifespan – While other tooth-replacement solutions usually last for 5-15 years, dental implants often last for over three decades.
- They Have a High Success Rate – With non-smoking patients, dental implants have a success rate of 95% after 10 years.
- They Help Prevent Bone Loss – While dental bridges rest against the surrounding teeth and dentures rest against the gums, dental implants get their strength from the jawbone. The stimulation this provides lessens the risk of bone and tooth loss in the future.
If you are interested in learning more about the perks of dental implants, then schedule a consultation with us! That way, we can review your dental history, complete a comprehensive oral exam, and decide together if they are the ideal tooth-replacement solution for you.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Dental implants are considered a suitable solution for anyone experiencing tooth loss. Sturdy, durable, and long-lasting, these prosthetics remain superior to all other treatment options. But what makes a person a good candidate for dental implants? Is there a criterion they must meet? The only way to know for certain is to schedule a consultation with your implant dentist. Whether you are cleared to receive new teeth right away or you must undergo additional care first, Dr. Bell and our team assure you that a beautiful smile is in your future.
Who is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?
Identifying whether you are a good candidate for dental implants requires that you have good oral and overall health and enough jawbone density to support your new teeth. This can only be determined during a consultation with your implant dentist in Cary.
Dr. Bell’s experience and expertise allow him to evaluate your smile and decide how to proceed based on:
- The status of your oral health: Do you need treatment to address gum disease or tooth decay?
- The status of your overall health: Are you healthy enough overall to undergo minor oral surgery?
- The status of your jawbone density: Is your jawbone dense enough to stabilize and support your new restoration once it is in place?
Based on his findings, you may require gum disease treatment, tooth extraction, bone grafting, a sinus lift, or another similar solution to improve your oral health. This will ensure a stable environment for your dental implants once they are surgically placed.
Missing One Tooth
A single missing tooth can be replaced with a titanium dental implant. Positioned within the gap, Dr. Bell will place it in the jawbone, so it fuses over time and creates a solid base. Once you are fully healed, we will place a customized dental crown on top of the implant. This will allow you to feel more confident and no longer be concerned about a gap in your smile.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Multiple missing teeth in a row can be treated with two dental implants placed at the outer edges of the gap. Instead of altering healthy teeth to serve as anchors for a fixed bridge, the implants will fuse with the bone to support a custom-made implant bridge. Once attached, you will be able to eat more comfortably and speak clearly, all while smiling without any fear. You will enjoy a complete appearance that makes socializing and networking easier than before.
Missing All Teeth
If an entire arch of teeth is missing, Dr. Bell can place between 4 and 6 titanium dental implants along the jawbone to support an implant denture. Instead of sitting atop the gums to create a visual recreation of your smile, this innovative solution attaches to the tops of the implants for more permanent results. There is no need to worry about your teeth shifting or slipping when you eat or speak, and you’ll appreciate the 30+ year lifespan of these prosthetics.