Dental Implants — Braintree, MA
Close the Gaps in Your Smile for Good
Do your missing teeth make your life a little less enjoyable every single day? Are you constantly adjusting your diet, choosing different words, or avoiding smiling because of them? If so, then dental implants can easily solve all of those problems for life. These restorations offer the next best thing to natural teeth, and now, you can get this state-of-the-art treatment right here in Braintree at Pinnacle Dental. If you’re ready to finally put your tooth loss behind you, give us a call today .
Why Choose Pinnacle Dental for Dental Implants?
- Entire Procedure Completed Under One Roof
- Braintree’s Home for Award-Winning Care Since 1988
- High-Quality Materials That Deliver Unmatched Results
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are considered the gold standard for replacing missing teeth due to their unique placement method. Titanium posts that mimic the function of natural teeth are surgically placed into the jawbone, where they don’t just replace missing pearly whites, but also promote adequate oral health and jawbone density. Realistic-looking replacement teeth are attached to the posts to complete the restoration of the patient’s smile. This procedure isn’t just effective; it’s proven to be safe and capable of lasting for several decades under ideal conditions, vastly outperforming other restorative options like dentures and bridges.
Start-to-Finish Convenience
At most other dental offices in the area, implant patients are forced to visit multiple doctors to have their roots placed and their new teeth attached to them. With Pinnacle Dental, however, patients are able to get everything they need right here in our Braintree dental office. From beginning to end, you’ll work with the same dentist and team to ensure your implant journey is as smooth as possible, helping you rebuild your smile without unnecessary stress.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
Dental implants have become one of the most popular tooth replacement options due to their unique benefits. However, because they’re a newer technology, many still have questions about the treatment process. At Pinnacle Dental, we want our patients to have all the information they need, which is why we’ve included a step-by-step guide for how dental implants work.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
If you have missing teeth and are interested in dental implants in Braintree, we recommend scheduling a consultation with our office. We will carefully examine your mouth, the number of teeth you’re missing, the condition of your oral health, and the strength of your jawbone before recommending dental implants as a solution. If you have any preexisting dental issues such as gum disease, we will treat them before the implant process can begin. Once we’ve created your personalized treatment plan for receiving your implants, we’ll schedule your surgery!
Dental Implant Surgery
Most dental practices have to outsource for dental implants because the surgical process requires extra training and education. However, at Pinnacle Dental, you’ll work with the same dentist throughout the entire treatment—from beginning to end. This is not only convenient, saving you trips across town, but it also results in more consistent care.
We’ll start your implant surgery by ensuring that you’re numb, comfortable, and sedated. Then, we’ll create tiny incisions in your gums to access your jawbone. After making small holes, we will place your dental implants and provide you with temporary restorations to maintain your appearance while they heal.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement
Once your surgery is complete, we’ll allow about 3 to 4 months for your dental implant to heal—a process called osseointegration. Our dental implants are made out of titanium, which is a biocompatible material that will become part of your jaw once fully healed. While this process seems lengthy, it’s precisely what makes dental implants a strong and long-lasting tooth replacement. Then, we will place abutments on top of your implants, which are used to successfully mount your permanent restoration.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
Once your implants are healed and the abutments are placed, we’ll mount our custom-made restorations on top of them. The type of restoration that we use will directly depend on the number of teeth that you’re missing, but every solution is personalized for your smile. If you’re only missing one tooth, we can seamlessly complete your smile with a beautiful dental crown. This restoration is crafted to match the color, shape, and size of the rest of your teeth.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Unlike other replacements, dental implants actually bring back both parts of a tooth: the root and the crown. A titanium post is placed within the jawbone, bonds with it, and helps secure a new crown, bridge, or denture. This approach brings with it several advantages, which is why roughly 500,000 patients choose to restore the look, health, and function of their smile with dental implants each year. To learn more about the benefits of this state-of-the-art tooth-replacement option, read on!
Day-to-Day Benefits
With dental implants, you won’t have to wait long to enjoy the perks. Here are a few of the ways this tooth-replacement solution can improve your day-to-day life:
- Easier Maintenance – Dental implants are extremely easy to maintain. In fact, you can maintain them with the same best practices you use for your natural teeth, like flossing daily!
- Improved Confidence – Every implant is topped with a custom-made restoration, giving our patients a natural appearance that boosts their oral health as well as their self-esteem.
- Varied Diet – Because they are rooted inside strong jawbone, patients can eat whatever they like and not have to worry about their implanted teeth moving.
Health Benefits
In addition to improving your confidence and diet, dental implants come with several health benefits, including:
- Jawbone Preservation – Right now, dental implants are the only replacement that’s able to stop and even reverse the bone loss that occurs after tooth loss.
- Protection for Natural Teeth – Even one missing tooth can negatively impact the alignment of your bite. Fortunately, dental implants can keep your teeth in their ideal position.
- Better Overall Health – Since tooth loss has been linked to an increased risk of several diseases, rebuilding your smile with dental implants can benefit your oral and overall health.
Long-Term Benefits
When compared to dental bridges and dentures, dental implants offer several unique long-term benefits, such as:
- High Success Rate – One of the biggest perks of dental implants is the high success rate. Studies have found that it’s about 95% even after 20 years!
- Youthful Appearance – In addition to the size, shape, and shade of each restoration being custom-made, the implant itself stimulates the jawbone to prevent a sunken, aged look.
- Long-Lasting Results – When properly cared for, a dental implant can be expected to last for decade after decade, often for the rest of a patient’s life.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Every tooth is invaluable to your dental health; when even one is missing, it creates more than just aesthetic issues because you lose more than just the crown. The root is also missing, so your jawbone slowly deteriorates because it isn’t being stimulated. Over time, your remaining teeth lose support and shift out of alignment. This increases your risk of several new oral health issues, like additional tooth loss.
Dental implants can be used to help patients with any number of missing teeth. They just need to have a mouth and jawbone healthy enough to support the new roots. When this has been confirmed via an exam, our team can use implants to renew the smile in the following ways:
Missing 1 Tooth
A fixed bridge is the most traditional solution to replace a missing tooth. An impression of your mouth is taken to recreate it. It is held in place by reshaping the adjacent teeth to bond dental crowns over them. This is a convenient solution that lasts for about one decade before needing to be replaced; however, it only replicates the portion of the tooth that’s visible above the gum line.
A dental implant can also be used; a titanium implant post is surgically placed into your jawbone to act as a new root. An abutment is placed on the post to connect a custom-made crown. This allows you to enjoy the next best thing to your real tooth using a solution that can last for a lifetime with the right aftercare.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Traditionally, multiple missing teeth in a row are replaced using a fixed bridge. The bridge is held in place by reshaping your adjacent teeth to bond dental crowns over them. This is a convenient and affordable solution; however, you’ll need to permanently alter healthy teeth to support the bridge. As an alternative, a dental implant can hold the bridge in place.
For patients missing multiple teeth throughout an arch, a partial can be used. This consists of prosthetic teeth that are attached to a gum-colored base with a metal framework. Alternatively, single-unit implants and implant-retained bridges can also be used, which will allow your smile to look more natural and help you enjoy all of your favorite foods again.
Missing All Teeth
Patients missing all of their teeth along a single row can effectively replace them using just four to six implants that are attached to a full denture. Once in place, this denture can be trusted to never slip or slide, allowing a patient to eat whatever they like with complete comfort. This option also grants numerous oral health benefits, making it quite desirable.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Every single dental implant treatment we provide is personalized based on a patient’s unique situation and needs. Because of this, the cost can vary quite a bit as well. We can go over all pricing information when you come to see us for an in-person consultation. Even though implants tend to be more expensive upfront compared to traditional bridges and dentures, they are an investment that will last for decades, meaning patients avoid spending thousands on periodic maintenance that traditional bridges and dentures require.
Types of Dental Implants
Whether you’re missing one, several, or all of your natural teeth, dental implants can help you rebuild your smile. Some of the main factors that will influence the cost of your treatment are how many and what type of dental implants you need. For example, replacing one tooth will only require a single implant post and a custom dental crown. This would cost less than replacing an entire arch of missing teeth, which needs anywhere from four to eight implants and a complete denture.
What are the Stages of Dental Implant Treatment?
Since the dental implant process is a multistep procedure, you don’t have to pay for your entire treatment all at once. Instead, you can budget and save for each appointment over the course of several months. Some of the stages that will incur individual fees include:
- Need for sedation
- Preliminary treatments, such as gum disease therapy or bone graft
- Implant placement surgery
- Abutment placement
- Design, creation, and placement of the final restoration
Are Dental Implants Worth the Investment?
With over five million dental implants placed every year according to the American Dental Association, dental implants are quickly becoming one of the most popular tooth replacement options available. So what makes this treatment worth the cost for so many people? Since dental implants replace missing teeth both above and below the gumline, they offer numerous unique and important benefits, such as:
- Lifelike comfort and appearance
- Vastly improved stability and biting force
- Easy maintenance with great oral hygiene
- Preservation of jawbone density and facial structure
- The potential to last a lifetime with the proper care
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
Every dental insurance policy is slightly different, so you’ll need to check the details of your specific policy to see if your plan covers the cost of dental implants. Feel free to bring your insurance paperwork with you to your consultation and we’ll be happy to review it with you. Typically, dental insurance companies will only cover parts or percentages of dental implant treatments at the most. To help make rebuilding your smile as easy as possible, we offer financing options through CareCredit. This will let you break up the cost of your treatment into smaller payments that fit into your monthly budget. We’ll go over your personalized estimate of costs during your consultation, as well as how to make achieving your new smile as affordable as possible.
Dental Implant FAQs
Dental implants are a major investment. We understand that it’s important for you to be as informed as possible before you make any decision that affects your smile in the way dental implants do. That’s why we’ve gathered a few of our most frequently asked questions about implants for your convenience.
Will I Need to See an Outside Specialist to Get My Dental Implants Placed?
No! At most other dentist’s offices, you might have to visit a separate specialist, like an oral surgeon, in order to have your implants placed and restored. However, at Pinnacle Dental, we perform the entire process here under one roof. From your initial consultation to the placement itself to the custom restoration installation, we can make sure your journey to a more natural-looking smile is an easy one.
If I Smoke, Can I Still Get Dental Implants?
Yes, but you’re at a greater risk for complications and implant failure than non-smokers. Using tobacco slows down the body’s natural process of healing. The success of your implants depends on your jawbone’s ability to heal and grow around the implant posts, so you don’t want smoking to mess with that. Additionally, smoking increases your risk of contracting peri-implantitis, a form of gum disease most common in those with recent dental implants. Smoking irritates the gums and soft tissues in the mouth, making them more likely to get infected. If you’re a smoker who is considering getting dental implants, this would be an excellent time and reason to quit. If you need some help kicking the habit, ask our dentist. He would be more than happy to provide you with the resources you need.
I’m Diabetic; Can I Still Get Implants?
Yes, but, like smokers, you are at a greater risk for complications. Both types of diabetes can negatively affect your body’s ability to heal and fight off infections. This is especially true when your blood sugar levels remain uncontrolled. Before getting dental implants, it’s a good idea to speak with your endocrinologist or primary care doctor about the risks involved. Furthermore, it never hurts to try and get your blood sugar levels under better control. Being diabetic doesn’t automatically mean you can’t get dental implants. It just makes the process slightly more difficult. However, it will be worth it to have your beautiful, stable new smile.
Will Getting Dental Implants Hurt?
Most patients report very little discomfort following their dental implant placement. In fact, they often report that it hurts significantly less than a tooth extraction. Our office is equipped with the technology to offer sedation, local anesthesia, and general anesthesia to make sure you are nice and comfortable before your procedure. Moreover, we can prescribe plenty of pain relievers and possibly antibiotics to aid you in the healing process.