Dental Implants

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are high quality restorations held in place by posts that are surgically integrated into your jawbone. The post gives the restoration a sturdy foundation, while the restoration serves as the replacement for your missing teeth. Dental implants are custom made and designed to look, act, and function just like natural teeth.

Benefits of Dental Implants

Beyond offering stability and a natural-looking replacement for missing teeth, dental implants offer a wide variety of other benefits including:

• Better protection against infection and oral disease
• Prevents remaining teeth from shifting to fill the empty space
• Restores your bite
• Restores the ability to eat, speak, and smile with confidence
• Crafted to blend in seamlessly with your natural smile
• Multiple options including implant-supported dentures and All-On-4
• Prevents loss of jawbone density
• Stain resistance helps keep your smile white
• Implants can last 20 years to a lifetime with proper care and regular dental exams

The Dental Implant Process

Initial Consultation

You’ll undergo an initial consultation with one of our dentists at our Belvidere, IL office. Your dentist will thoroughly examine your mouth, review your medical history, and discuss sedation options as well as your smile goals with you. This will help us decide if dental implants are the right treatment for you.

In certain cases, the tooth has gone unreplaced for too long and has caused gum recession or jawbone resorption to occur. If this has happened, your dentist may recommend a supplemental procedure to increase your chances of implant candidacy.

Your dentists will also let you know about our other restorative options, so you can make an informed decision that best suits your oral health needs. If you both decide to go forward with dental implants, we’ll design your implants and schedule your next appointment.

Designing Your Dental Implants

To design your dental implants so they match your natural smile, we’ll take images and impressions of your smile. We’ll send these images and impressions to a dental laboratory, where your custom-made restorations will be created. This will typically take about two weeks.

The Implant Procedure

To prepare your mouth for implants, we’ll clean your teeth and apply a local anesthetic. We’ll also apply your chosen sedation method, or ensure any sedatives you took at home before your procedure are working. Then, your dentist will make small incisions in your gums and surgically place the implant posts into your jawbone.

You’ll return to have your restorations placed once your implants have fully fused to your jawbone in a natural process called osseointegration. Osseointegration usually takes three to six months, but this time frame can vary based on your unique physiology and your post-procedure behaviors.

Placing Your Restoration

When you return to our Belvidere office, your dentists will place your restoration by attaching it to the implant post with a connector piece called an abutment. Once your restorations are attached, your implants will be complete and you can leave our office with a new, stunning smile.