When a tooth is lost, the other teeth must take over the job of chewing up the food. This is especially true for your molars; they do the most work.

If one or more teeth are missing, there are now more advanced options to the standard solutions like dental bridges and full dentures — dental implants! Dental implants are designed to replicate a tooth’s natural structure, including the root and help with overall stability, providing you with a restored smile and restored confidence.

Benefits of a dental implant include:

• The only tooth replacement that keeps your jawbone strong and healthy.
• Since the dental implant is placed into your jawbone, it allows for the new restoration to look similar to your natural teeth.
• Dental implants are designed to last a lifetime with proper care.
• Dental implants are very natural looking and feeling, allowing matchless confidence.
• Dental implants improve the biting power, which helps you to eat more of your favorite foods!
• Taking care of your dental implants is very similar to taking care of your natural teeth. They are simple to take care of.

At South Tulsa Smiles we use 3D Image software to measure your bone height, width, and density. Dr. Fields is also able to virtually place your implant to insure ideal placement.

If a single tooth is missing, we can complete your smile with an implant retained crown. It can be screwed directly into the implant or cemented onto the implant abutment. The implant abutment acts as the “tooth structure” of a natural tooth.

If you are missing more than one tooth, a dental bridge is made from crowns that fit over the implant abutment on each side of the space. Then “fake” teeth are connected in between the two teeth that “bridge the gap” in your smile.

If you are missing all your teeth, don’t worry! Dental implants can still benefit you! A natural looking denture will snap or screw onto your implants. Usually 4 implants are placed in the maxilla (upper) and 2 in the mandible (lower). The number of implants can vary from patient to patient.

The healing process for dental implant can be different for each patient. The ideal time is 3-6 months depending on your bone density and compliance to the necessary recovery guidelines. At 6 weeks Dr. Fields requests that you come in for a quick X-ray to be sure the implant is healing properly and integrating into the bone. If it has then we will schedule you to get the restoration process going. The timing of this will be at the discretion of Dr. Fields healing time recommendation.

Smoking, low Vitamin D, and poor dental hygiene are a few things that can cause implant failure. (Dr. Fields may instruct that you take a Vitamin D supplement). Returning to our office for your routine cleanings also helps guarantee the longevity of the implant.

Post-op discomfort is minimal to none. We recommend no Ibuprofen be taken after the procedure as this can interfere with the bone healing process.

At South Tulsa Smiles, Dr. Londel Fields and our team have helped many patients reap the benefits of dental implants in Tulsa, OK, to replace missing teeth. If you would like to learn more about dental implants or want to schedule a consultation, we invite you to call 918-740-0454 today!