Dental Implants — New Bedford, MA
The Superior Tooth Replacement Option
It’s no understatement to say that dental implants have completely changed the way dentists are able to replace missing teeth. These restorations are so lifelike and durable that they might as well be real teeth! Here at Clear Coast Dental, we can use this state-of-the-art technology to permanently fill the gaps in our patients’ smiles, renewing their confidence and bite at the same time. If you’re ready to turn your tooth loss into a distant memory, implants are by far the best way to do it. To learn more and see if this treatment would be a good fit for you, contact us today.
Why Choose Clear Coast Dental For Dental Implants?
- Partnered with New Bedford’s Best Oral Surgeons
- Able to Replace Any Number of Missing Teeth for a Lifetime
- Reasonable & Honest Fees with No Hidden Charges
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are designed to replace the entire structure of a tooth, not just its crown like dentures and dental bridges do. They consist of three main parts: a dental implant post, an abutment, and a custom-made restoration. The small titanium implant post is placed into the jawbone to replace the roots of your missing tooth. Not only does this anchor your new tooth into place, but it gives thitem unmatched stability, comfort, and the potential to last a lifetime. A small connector piece called the abutment is placed on top of the post to secure your final restoration into place. This custom-made crown, bridge, or denture will be precisely crafted out of high-quality materials, so it will blend in seamlessly with the rest of your pearly whites. When you replace missing teeth from the roots up, you get a smile that looks, feels, and functions just like natural!
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
Dental implants involve a unique, multi-step process that sets them apart from dentures or bridges. While every patient’s treatment is customized, the general steps are the same across the board. At Clear Coast Dental, we collaborate with skilled local oral surgeons who specialize in placing implants with precision and care. Once healing is complete, patients return to us to receive their custom restoration. Read along to learn more about your journey to a newly rebuilt smile.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
The first step is a personalized consultation at our dental office. During this visit, we’ll discuss your smile goals and carefully evaluate your oral health. Based on our findings, we’ll determine if any preparatory treatments are needed (e.g., tooth extractions, bone grafting, gum disease treatment) to create a solid foundation for your implants. We’ll also explain each step of the process and answer any questions you may have. This thorough planning ensures your treatment is tailored to your unique needs and sets the stage for long-lasting results.
Dental Implant Surgery
Next, you’ll book your dental implant placement surgery, performed by one of our trusted local oral surgeons. Each specialist has years of advanced training and extensive experience placing implants, so you can feel confident your smile is in expert hands.
During surgery, the implants are strategically positioned in your jawbone to provide a stable foundation for your new teeth. After the procedure, you’ll be given time to heal, allowing your body to start the important process of integrating the implants with your natural bone.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement
Following surgery, your implants will undergo osseointegration, where they fuse with the jawbone over several months to create a stable base. Once healing is complete, you’ll return to have small metal abutments placed on top of your implants. These connectors are essential, as they anchor your future restoration securely in place. This step ensures that your new teeth will function comfortably and look natural, while also protecting the underlying implants. With the abutments in place, you’ll be ready for the final phase: the design and placement of your custom restoration.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
The final step in your dental implant journey is the placement of your customized restoration. Whether you need a dental crown, bridge, or denture, we’ll design your new teeth to match your smile perfectly. Using detailed impressions and advanced materials, your restoration will be crafted for both beauty and durability.
Once it’s ready, we’ll securely attach it to your implants, completing your smile transformation. With proper care, your dental implants can provide you with a confident smile that stands the test of time!
Benefits of Dental Implants
More than 500,000 dental implants are placed every year, so they are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to restore lost teeth. Because of the specialized process through which they are placed in the jawbone, these modern dental prosthetic devices offer a number of amazing oral health and daily life benefits that traditional restorations like bridges and dentures cannot match. Here are only a few of the ways in which dental implants from Clear Coast Dental can improve your wellness, confidence, and quality of life.
Day-to-Day Benefits
Dental implants can deliver several benefits that you may notice in your daily life such as:
- Enhancing your chewing ability so you can enjoy any food you could eat with your natural teeth.
- Being easy to brush and floss so you can avoid bad breath while forgoing the elaborate cleaning rituals required by traditional dentures and bridges.
- Allowing you to speak without worrying about your restoration sliding out of place or falling out of your mouth, which can help you converse confidently without fear of embarrassment.
- Giving you the confidence you need to make stellar first impressions during business and social situations.
Health Benefits
Dental implants can also help a patient maintain excellent oral and overall health in ways like:
- Easy cleaning requirements make preventing nasty oral infections like tooth decay, gum disease, and abscesses a breeze.
- Stimulating the jawbone to keep it healthy and strong, which can help preserve your dental alignment and the shape of your face while preventing further tooth loss.
- Allowing the patient to enjoy the diverse diet of nutritious foods the human body needs to stay in great shape.
- Staying securely in place within the mouth, meaning you won’t have to worry about dental damage or soft tissue irritation caused by your restoration sliding about on your gums.
Long-Term Benefits
Dental implants offer a few significant long-term benefits for your finances, career, and social life. These include:
- Boasting a success rate greater than 95% even ten years after being placed, which makes them a sound investment in your oral health.
- Potentially lasting for several decades or a lifetime if they receive excellent care, which can prevent the need to spend thousands of dollars on expensive replacement dentures and bridges every few years.
- Helping you smile proudly so you can stand out from the competition when being considered for a lucrative new job or a juicy promotion.
Making it easy to leave great first impressions, which can help you win trust, close sales, and make friends.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
One of the best things about dental implants is that they can help patients dealing with any degree of tooth loss! So, if you are missing one tooth, several teeth, or an entire arch, don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment at our New Bedford office so we can determine if this is the best tooth-replacement solution for you! If you still have a few days or weeks until your consultation, you can also read on to learn the qualities we look for in a good candidate as well as the types of dental implants we offer.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?
At your consultation with our dental implant dentist in New Bedford, they will determine:
- If any preliminary treatments are needed, like gum disease treatment
- If your jawbone is strong enough to support dental implants
- If your teeth and gums are healthy
- If you’re in good overall health
- If you’re willing to commit to good habits, like brushing and flossing consistently
With all of this information, they can determine if they can restore your bite strength, oral health, and confidence with dental implants. If the answer is “yes,” then they will move on to the next step: determining which type of dental implant is ideal for you.
Missing One Tooth
In the past, traditional bridges were the primary solution for one missing tooth. While this is still an option, there is one downside: healthy enamel often needs to be altered to make room for the dental crowns. That’s not the case with dental implants! Instead of filing down the surrounding teeth to hold a traditional bridge, one missing tooth can easily be replaced with a single dental implant. After it has fused with the jawbone, the implant post is topped with a custom-made crown, seamlessly replacing both the root and crown of your tooth.
Missing Multiple Teeth
For patients who are missing several teeth in a row, we can use an implant bridge. One dental implant will be placed on either side of the empty space in your row of teeth. Between them, your new replacement teeth will sit securely in place, literally bridging the gap. This type of dental implant can typically replace up to four missing teeth in a row.
Are you missing teeth in different parts of your mouth? If so, we may recommend a partial implant denture or several single dental implants.
Missing All Teeth
With only 4 to 6 strategically placed implants, a patient can get a reliable denture that they don’t ever have to worry about shifting around in their mouth. Implant dentures enable patients to have a much stronger bite compared to traditional removable ones, helping them eat a wider variety of foods and improve their overall health in the process. Plus, with proper care and maintenance, they can last for several decades!
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Because dental implants can be customized based on each patient’s unique situation, there is no set cost for the procedure. Factors such as how many implants a patient needs, where they are located in the mouth, and what kind of restoration is used can all influence the final price.
While implant restorations do tend to cost more upfront than other traditional options, they normally end up being the better financial choice over time. Because they last so long (30+ years or longer), patients usually end up spending much less on implants compared to regular bridges and dentures, which typically have to be completely replaced every 5-7 years.
Types of Dental Implants
The number of teeth you’re missing is a major factor in the cost of your treatment. For example, it should go without saying that a single implant post restored with a dental crown will cost significantly less than four to six posts securing a full denture. Dental implants can also be made from various materials and placed at different angles. All of these factors greatly impact the cost of your tooth replacement. During your consultation, your implant dentist in New Bedford can go over the details of your treatment plan and lay out a personalized cost estimate.
Stages of Dental Implant Treatment
You won’t have to pay for the entirety of your treatment at once. The dental implant process is split up into several procedures over the course of a few months, with each of them incurring their own unique cost. This allows you to pay for your new smile one procedure at a time.
Are Dental Implants Worth the Investment?
Yes, dental implants are absolutely worth the investment! They have the ability to last for decades, making them a better long-term solution than alternative treatments that have to be replaced every few years. They also deliver unmatched benefits, such as incredible sturdiness, lifelike appearance, and promotion of new jawbone growth. Most of our patients who have received dental implants in New Bedford have said they were well worth the cost.
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
Many dental insurance carriers unfortunately do not cover the cost of dental implants. However, you’ll have to get in touch with a representative from your company to be sure. Our team will be more than happy to help with that process. Even if your plan doesn’t cover the implants themselves, it might mitigate the cost of preliminary treatments or your final restoration. We can help you explore various payment options, such as low- or no-interest loans through CareCredit.
Dental Implant Technology
During your dental implant consultation, we will likely want to perform a CBCT scan. Our CBCT technology works similarly to an X-ray machine, but the images it produces are much more detailed. They will allow us to get an in-depth look at your remaining teeth, your jawbone, your nerves, and your connective tissues. Armed with that information, we can determine whether you are a viable candidate for dental implants. The dentist who performs your implant placement surgery will also find the scan valuable because it will allow them to plan your procedure in a way that minimizes the risk of complications.
Dental Implant Failure & Salvage
With an impressive success rate of 95% even 10 years after placement, it’s not likely that you’ll experience dental implant failure. However, we still believe you should be informed and prepared just in case you begin to experience any problems with your smile! If your dental implant begins to hurt or feel loose, or if you begin to experience any other symptoms in your mouth that concern you, we encourage you to call us right away. We’ll want to see you for an evaluation to determine if you need dental implant salvage treatment.
Learn More About Dental Implant Failure & Salvage
Dental Implant FAQs
Dental implants are a lifechanging tooth replacement option for people who are missing one or more of their teeth. They are quite an investment, so it pays to be well-informed. Here are the answers to some of the most common inquiries that we receive about dental implants in New Bedford. If you don’t see the information that you’re looking for below, don’t worry. Give us a call and we’d be more than happy to answer your questions and get you started with an initial consultation.
How Long Do Dental Implants Last?
This will depend on the health and lifestyle choices of the patients. To ensure than dental implants last, it’s crucial to brush, floss, and rinse with a mouthwash daily, as well as attend regular cleanings and checkups. Avoid chewing on anything that is particularly hard and sticky. With proper maintenance, implants can last upwards of 30 years! This is several times longer than the average traditional bridge or denture.
Does Getting Dental Implants Hurt?
The jawbone doesn’t have very many nerve endings, and your mouth will be numbed with a local anesthetic before the start of your procedure. You will also most likely be sedated which will lower your body’s ability to register pain. Ultimately, you shouldn’t feel any discomfort while the surgery is taking place. However, your mouth may be sore for a few days afterwards. To manage discomfort, take prescribed and recommended over-the-counter pain relievers as directed.
Will I Have to Take Off Work for Dental Implant Surgery?
Many patients only need to take one or two days off work to get dental implants. If your job is physically demanding, you may want to take off three to four, as heavy exercise can divert blood from the implant site and delay healing. Everyone is different, and your dentist will be able to give you a more specific recommendation based on your unique case.
Can I Get Dental Implants If I’m Diabetic?
If your diabetes is under control, your odds of dental implant success are generally comparable to those of nondiabetic patients. Uncontrolled diabetes and chronic high blood sugar can slow down the healing process, making it more difficult for your implants to integrate with the jawbone. If you are interested in replacing your missing teeth with dental implants, talk to your endocrinologist or primary care physician about getting your blood sugar levels under control beforehand.
