Think of dental implants as artificial tooth roots. Our Atlanta dental implants specialists use those artificial roots as the foundation so they can place a single tooth, multiple teeth or stabilize dentures. There are commonly three parts to what is described as an implant. These parts are the implant device itself (which is inserted directly into the bone), abutment (the piece that connects the implant device to the third part) and the crown or dentures.

Today’s dental implant restorations are virtually indistinguishable from natural teeth. This appearance is aided by the structural and functional connection between the dental implant and the living bone. Atlanta dental implants are typically placed in a single sitting but require a period of osseointegration. Osseointegration is the process by which the dental implant anchors to the jaw bone. Osseointegrated dental implants are the most commonly used and successful type of an implant. An osseointegrated implant takes anywhere from three to six months to anchor and heal, at which point your dentist can complete the procedure by placing a crown restoration. If osseointegration does not occur, the implant will fail.

Your actual dental implant surgery is done by our partnering oral surgeon in our Atlanta office. Local anesthesia is usually adequate for these out-patient procedures, but various other forms of patient sedation (such as nitrous oxide and oral/or intravenous sedation) may also be used. Many patients sleep through the procedure, which usually lasts under one hour.

The most widely practiced method of placing dental implants is a “staged surgery” procedure. The first stage consists of surgically burying the implant (which replaces the tooth root) even with the bone but underneath the gum. This protects the implant from force while it is healing. At the end of this healing period, dental implants need to be surgically exposed by removing some of the overlying gum.

At this second stage, the surgeon checks the implant for its successful integration. They then will connect some form of post that penetrates through the gum into the mouth. This post is called the abutment. Abutments come in many forms and can be stock-manufactured or custom-molded by your dentist and a laboratory. The gum is allowed to heal around the abutment and form a cuff or collar. This is through which the dentist has access to the dental implants when preparing the final restorative stage of placing the prosthetic tooth or teeth.

Research has shown that it is often possible to place a suitable abutment at the same time as the dental implants. This has certain limitations but can eliminate the need for a second surgery to expose the implant. However, the implant still requires adequate healing time for the bone to osseointegrate. The abutments must also be protected from chewing forces during this period to assure effective bony integration and successful healing. Once the dental implants have had a chance to heal and tested for successful integration, the final restorative step takes place. This stage consists of fabricating and connecting the prosthetic teeth to the successfully osseointegrated dental implants.

Many patients researching Atlanta dental implants have heard of such phrases as, “Teeth in a day.” While those procedures are commonly used, the success depends on many factors, including the patient’s preexisting conditions. Our Atlanta dental implants dentists will help explain both procedures and determine which one will give you the greatest percentage for a lifetime dental implants with few complications and problems.