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Dental Implants at Hamilton Dentistry
With proper brushing, flossing, and regular dental checkups, most people can preserve their natural smiles for a lifetime. However, sometimes our teeth may not withstand the test of time. If you've lost a tooth or several teeth due to injury or disease, dental implants can restore both your smile and your oral health.
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A dental implant is a synthetic tooth root shaped like a post, surgically placed into the jawbone. Typically made of titanium, a material also used in many hip and knee replacements, this metal pairs well with human bone. Once the implant is in place, a replacement tooth is fixed to the post. This replacement can be either permanently attached or removable, with permanent options offering greater stability and a more natural feel.
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At Hamilton Dentistry, we exclusively use the top implant brands worldwide—'Straumann' and 'Zimmer Biomet 3i'—to ensure the highest quality results. We do not restore sub-par or low-cost implant brands, as our priority is to provide you with durable, reliable restorations that last a lifetime.
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The ideal candidate for dental implants is a non-smoker with good oral health, sufficient jawbone density, and healthy gums free of gum disease.
Single or Multiple Dental Implants
Implants are versatile. If you are only missing one tooth, one implant plus one replacement tooth will do the trick. If you are missing several teeth in a row, a few strategically placed implants can support a permanent bridge (a set of replacement teeth). Similarly, if you have lost all of your teeth, a full bridge or full denture can be permanently fixed in your mouth with a strategic number of implants.
Advantages Over Dentures or Bridges
Conventional bridges and dentures are not fixed to the bone, and can therefore be unstable. This can make it difficult to eat or smile with confidence. Implants not only look more natural, but feel and act more like normal teeth, with a stronger biting force. And because they don't directly rely on neighboring teeth for support, implants don't compromise the health of your natural teeth. In fact, bridges are only expected to last seven to ten years, even less with root canals, whereas implants will typically last a lifetime.
Post-Treatment Care
Consider your replacement teeth to be the same as natural teeth. They require the same daily brushing and flossing, and the same amount of regular checkups. Just like your natural teeth, the better you take care of your replacements, the longer they will last.
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Dental Implant Services in Hamilton, MA
Autogenous Bone Grafting
Occasionally, the ideal areas for dental implants do not have sufficient bone quantity to support the implants. In these cases, it is often necessary to “borrow” bone from another area of your mouth and graft it into the deficient area. Often, the area of choice is from the chin or in the back of the jaw where your wisdom teeth used to be.
Implant Site Development
When a tooth needs to be removed due to infection, it is not uncommon to have lost bone around the infected tooth. In these cases, various types of bone grafting can be done at the same time the tooth is removed to facilitate the placement of a dental implant at a later date.
Implant Maintenance
Once your dental implant restoration is completed, it is important to keep the area clean and infection-free. Dental implants can accumulate plaque and tartar just as teeth can. Whether you have just one tooth replaced by an implant or several, a professional cleaning schedule will be necessary to keep your implants healthy. The time interval for these professional cleanings will be determined by your individual needs.