Dental Implants — Los Angeles, CA

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

Dental implant placement begins with an initial consultation with members of our team. During this appointment, you will discuss your desired goals and any concerns you might have. We will examine your oral and facial structures, evaluating your oral and overall health as well as your jawbone density. If you require preliminary treatments (i.e., bone grafting, periodontal therapy, tooth extraction, etc.) before undergoing dental implant surgery, we will discuss these with you and ensure that your smile is in optimal shape before receiving your permanent prosthetics.

Dental Implant Surgery

The entire start-to-finish procedure is completed in-house, so you do not have to worry about seeking a referral. When you arrive for your surgery, your implant dentist in Los Angeles will provide local anesthesia to help you remain pain-free throughout the process. We’ll then make one or more small incisions in your gums before inserting the implant posts and positioning them correctly. Once we are satisfied with the angle and position of the implants, we will close the gum tissue and place healing caps over the implants.

Dental Implant Osseointegration/Abutment

You will spend the next 3-6 months recovering at home and allowing osseointegration to occur. This is the process of allowing the bone and implants to fuse, creating a solid foundation for your new, customized restoration. Once you’ve healed from surgery, you’ll return to have your metal abutments put into place.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations

The final step of dental implant placement is receiving your customized restoration. This can be a dental crown, bridge, or denture depending on how many teeth were originally missing. Our team ensures the highest quality materials are used and that your restoration looks natural and feels comfortable. When placed, we’ll make sure it is perfectly aligned so that you can begin to start enjoying the many benefits only dental implants in Los Angeles can provide.

Day-to-Day Benefits

• Enjoy Your Favorite Foods: Instead of worrying about your prosthetic slipping or falling out while you eat, you can enjoy new teeth that remain firmly in place. With a greater bite force and chewing power, you can freely eat denser, textured foods with ease.
• Improved Appearance: Because dental implants in Los Angeles look natural and feel comfortable, they will blend in seamlessly with the rest of your smile.
• Easy to Clean: Instead of buying special cleaning supplies to keep your teeth healthy, you’re free to use the same dental instruments you have at home to ensure your new teeth remain clean and free of any debris.
• Better Quality of Life: It is believed that 34% of individuals who wear dentures say their prosthetic makes it difficult to live life to the fullest. However, with dental implants, you can freely smile when surrounded by family, friends, and colleagues.

Health Benefits

• More Natural Tooth Structure: Dental implants don’t require the altering of your healthy teeth like dental bridges do. This is a major benefit since you’ll be able to keep your natural teeth fully intact and untouched.
• Healthier Jaw: When dental implants are surgically placed, they are put into the jawbone for increased stability. Because they mimic the natural structure of a tooth, they will continue to stimulate the jawbone to keep it from collapsing, which can easily happen if tooth loss remains untreated for too long.
• Natural Teeth Remain in Place: When tooth loss occurs and it is not treated promptly, nearby teeth will try to shift and fill in the gap. But there’s no need to worry about dental drift, as you’ll be replacing your missing teeth with dental implants.
• Improved Health: Systemic diseases will be less of a concern (i.e., diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis), as your dental implants will replace your missing teeth. Also, they make it much easier to maintain good oral health.

Long-Term Benefits

• High Success Rate: When placed by a skilled implant dentist in Los Angeles, there is a 95% success rate. After 10 years, if properly maintained, it will remain between 90-95%.
• Longevity: It is believed that as long as you take proper care of your dental implants, they will last 30 years or longer. This is vastly different than dental bridges and dentures, which may only last 5-10 years.
• Cost Savings: You can expect to save a lot of money by choosing dental implants. Even though they are more expensive upfront than dentures or dental bridges, they will cost less in the long run because of their lifespan and the reality that they don’t require additional investment in specialized products along the way.

How Long Do Dental Implants Last?

Dental implants have the potential to last a lifetime. Many patients find that their implants are still thriving after 10, 20, 30, or more years — they last much longer than traditional bridges and dentures. Of course, how long your implants will endure depends on a few factors. For example, you should be careful to reduce your risk of infections by adhering to a diligent oral hygiene routine. You should also be mindful of your overall health and attend dental appointments every six months or so.

Does Getting Dental Implants Hurt?

The surgery itself should be quite comfortable for you. Not only will your mouth be numbed with local anesthetic, but you may also be sedated. We offer different types of sedation, from mild nitrous oxide to powerful IV sedation, and we may recommend one based on your unique situation. After the surgery, some soreness and swelling are normal. Taking painkillers and carefully following postoperative instructions will make your recovery as comfortable and low-risk as possible. If you experience any severe pain after receiving your implants, call your implant dentist in Los Angeles right away.

What Can Cause Dental Implants to Fail?

Dental implants are successful in the vast majority of cases. However, there is still a small chance that they will fail. Often, when failure occurs, it is due to an infection called peri-implantitis. When bacteria invade the tissues around an implant, the bone and gums can become so damaged that supporting the implant is no longer possible. Failure of the implant to bond with the surrounding bone (failed osseointegration) is another leading cause of implant failure. It is often due to underlying health conditions. Our team will do all we can to assess your risk factors for implant failure and make sure you commit to your procedure as a well-informed patient.

Can I Get Dental Implants If I Smoke?

Smoking is just one of many factors that we consider when we are determining whether a patient qualifies for dental implants. It will not automatically disqualify you from getting the treatment. However, it is important to keep in mind that smoking drastically increases the risk of implant failure, so you should certainly make every effort to quit. If you do not quit altogether, you should at least refrain from smoking during the weeks and months before and after your procedure. Nicotine patches or a similar supplement may help you to minimize or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Prioritize Your Oral Hygiene

Once you’ve gotten dental implants in Van Nuys, brushing and flossing become arguably more important than ever before. Although your new teeth cannot decay like natural teeth can, they’re still vulnerable to infections like gum disease. Without proper oral hygiene, dangerous bacteria could attack the gums and bone tissue that hold your implants in place, causing them to break down and your implants to fail. Luckily, cleaning your implants is simple; you can brush and floss them just like you would your home-grown teeth.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Sugary and starchy foods are notoriously harmful to your teeth and gums, and this also applies to dental implants. A diet that’s high in potato chips, candy, and other processed foods increases your risk of gum disease and, by extension, dental implant failure. There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to these items every now and then, but make sure your diet mostly consists of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products that contain valuable nutrients that benefit your smile’s health.

Break Bad Habits

Most of us have one or more habits that seem harmless at first, but could actually damage our teeth. Biting your fingernails, eating ice, chewing on pen tips, and opening packaging with your teeth are all examples of habits that can wear down your tooth enamel and implant restorations. Eventually, they could even break! Try to swap out these habits for healthier ones, like chewing sugar-free gum.

Protect Your Dental Implants

If you’re an athlete, it’s common sense to protect your smile from potential injuries by wearing a mouthguard. As you may have guessed, this is equally important whether your teeth are natural or implant-supported. A mouthguard should also be worn at night if you tend to grind and clench your teeth when you sleep. In either case, it’s better to get a custom mouthguard from your implant dentist in Van Nuys than it is to purchase a cheaply made guard from the store; they’ll be much more comfortable and effective.

Schedule Regular Checkups with Your Dentist

Of course, one of the most important ways to keep your dental implants in great shape is to visit your dentist for a routine checkup and cleaning every six months. They’ll examine your implants (as well as your gums and remaining teeth) to find signs of problems you may not have noticed yet. Then, they can treat them long before they have the chance to wreak havoc on your pearly whites.

3D CT/Cone Beam Scanner

Although it can be utilized for other procedures as well, a CBCT scanner plays a pivotal role in the success of dental implants. A regular X-ray reveals information about the jawbone and teeth, but a 3D CBCT image allows our implant dentists to get a more comprehensive idea of more oral structures like blood vessels, nerve endings, and more. Armed with this information, he can place the implants with more accuracy and with fewer complications, making our rate of success even higher!

Antibacterial Coating

For some patients, an infection like gum disease has to be eradicated before the implants can be placed. Otherwise, the jawbone tissue will not heal and grow to envelop the post properly. Unfortunately, microscopic bacteria can endure in the mouth, despite best efforts to get rid of them. That’s why we use an antibacterial coating on the dental implants themselves. This biocompatible coating prevents any remaining bacteria from the infection from interfering with the osseointegration process, increasing the chances of success.

Digital Impression System

After the implant has become integrated with the jawbone, we then focus on the restoration that will be attached on top. Traditionally, this meant taking impressions with a putty-like material that had to be pressed against the upper and lower arches. The slightest movement could result in faulty impressions and, therefore, ill-fitting restorations. That’s why we use a digital impression system to collect this information more accurately. Not only is the digital scanner more comfortable, but it also takes precise measurements, so your restoration can be fabricated to fit your unique smile.