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Dental Implant FAQ Laurel, MD

Frequently Asked Questions on Dental Implants

laurel, maryland dentist

Can anyone get a dental implant?

We do not recommend dental implants for anyone under the age of 18. This is because your gums, teeth, and jaws are not finished growing. Additionally, patients with extensive gum disease or bone loss are not good candidates for a dental implant. A consultation with your trusted dentist in Laurel, MD, will help you determine if dental implants are right for you.

What’s the success rate for dental implants?

One of the best things about dental implants is their high success rate. It’s around 95-97%. With a full examination before and advanced treatment planning, we do everything possible to ensure that your dental implants are successful.

Do dental implants feel like real teeth?

Dental implants look, feel, and function like your real teeth. In fact, dental implants are shade-matched to your smile so that the tooth blends seamlessly with the ones surrounding it. However, dental implants cannot change color with a whitening treatment, so if you are considering whitening your teeth, this is something to consider beforehand. Additionally, the implant is designed to custom-fit into your smile. Our doctors ensure that the prosthetic tooth does not alter your bite pattern.

Will dental implants hurt?

Most of our patients admit to having more discomfort during a tooth extraction than they did during the dental implant procedure. Our office provides a local anesthetic for the incision site as well as a variety of sedation dentistry options to keep you calm and comfortable throughout the implant procedure.

How long will my dental implant take to heal?

Because the titanium post is surgically implanted into your jawbone, we want to ensure that the post has enough time to fuse into your bone structure before applying a dental crown. The timespan it takes for the post to fuse with your jawbone is around three to six months. While this may seem like a long time, it is in your best interest to patiently wait out the healing period. This provides you with the durability and functionality that many of our patients are looking for with a dental implant procedure.

What should I expect after the dental implant procedure?

The downtime after the procedure is relatively short. You don’t experience excessive pain, and you can return to work soon. As it was a surgical procedure, you’ll experience some bleeding and discomfort for a few days after the surgery. We’ll give you detailed aftercare instructions to help ease pain and swelling, and make the process as smooth as possible.

What is the difference between a dental implant and a dental bridge?

When considering your tooth replacement options, you typically have dental bridges and dental implants. A dental implant involves a surgical procedure, while a dental bridge utilizes the support of your surrounding teeth to hold a prosthetic tooth in the gap of a missing tooth. While dental implants involve a more invasive procedure in the short term, they usually provide more long-term benefits.

Dental bridges will compromise the structure of the supporting teeth, while dental implants do not have to worry about that because it is a self-sustaining restoration. Additionally, dental implants allow you to live without dietary restrictions, while dental bridges require you to avoid excessively chewy or crunchy foods because they may damage the hardware. Learn more about the similarities and differences between dental implants and dental bridges here.

What is the difference between a dental implant and a dental crown?

Dental implants are topped with dental crowns. However, some patients are able to restore their smiles using only dental crowns. We typically recommend dental crowns when a patient suffers from severe dental damage. When a chip or crack is too deep to be repaired by tooth bonding, we can shave the remaining tooth down to a foundational core that will support the dental crown.

This allows patients to restore their damaged teeth without needing a tooth extraction or dental implant. With dental implants, the missing tooth has either fallen out, been extracted, or never grown in, to begin with. During your consultation, Dr. Goyal will discuss which tooth replacement option will work best for you.