Dental Implant Treatment - Common Questions | Westwood CA

What can I expect during dental implant treatment planning?

The qualified dentist will:

1. Physically examine the gap in your mouth where you’re planning to get a dental implant placed.
2. Capture the necessary dental imaging including X-rays, CT scans, and/or panoramic films in order to assess the quality and quantity of jawbone. 
3. Review your medical history for things like infections, allergies, bleeding disorders, existing medical conditions, and medications to ensure that you’re healthy enough to undergo dental surgery and heal and recover properly
4. Carefully plan your dental implant placement procedure

How can you help me relax for the surgical procedure?

During all your surgical procedure appointments, the dental surgeon will administer a local anesthetic to numb the surgical site, as well as any sedatives that you may require to calm your anxiety and make you comfortable. 

Is bone grafting necessary?

If the site has sufficient bone tissue after tooth extraction, the implant may be placed immediately without bone grafting. But if there’re signs of bone loss, the dentist may place a cadaver or synthetic bone at the site in order to build up the bone tissue and achieve a solid base to support the implant. This process is referred to as alveolar bone grafting, and takes 2-6 months to heal before you can proceed with implant placement. 

Can implants be placed in the upper jaw?

Though there is insufficient bone tissue in the upper jaw, especially in the back where the maxillary sinus is located, dental implants can still be successfully placed after building up the bone tissue with sinus augmentation or sinus lift procedure. 

How safe are dental implants?

First, you should note that dental implant placement has been used in dentistry since the 1950s. Second, implants tend to be very successful with a success rate of 98%, and are even considered the standard of care for replacing missing teeth. re. 

For more information on dental implants in Westwood CA and to find out the cost of your individual treatment, please contact us today.