Dental Implants – Midland, TX

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

If you’re interested in rebuilding your smile with dental implants, your first step will be meeting with Dr. Philipps. She’ll review what your goals are, go over your medical history, and inspect your mouth to ensure you’re a good candidate for dental implants. If we detect any signs of issues that could cause your dental implants to fail, such as gum disease, low jawbone density, or nightly teeth grinding, we’ll plan to address them before starting your treatment.

Dental Implant Surgery

Once your oral health is on track, we can move onto the surgical placement of your dental implant. This relatively straightforward surgery starts with a small incision in the gum tissue. Then, your Midland implant dentist will insert a small titanium post into your jawbone to mimic the missing tooth’s roots. The post is then covered with a cap to protect it during the healing process and maintain the shape of your gum tissue. 

Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment 

Over the next several months, your mouth will heal, and the dental implant post will gradually fuse with the surrounding bone tissue. This process is called osseointegration. Depending on how many dental implants you’re getting, the state of your health, and how well you care for your smile during the recovery period, this step can take anywhere from three to six months to complete. While this may seem like a long time, the unmatched stability, longevity, and function you’ll enjoy afterwards is well worth the wait! Once you’ve healed enough, a small connector piece called an abutment will be attached to the top of the post. As your gum tissue recovers from this step, we’ll begin to design your custom-made dental crown, bridge, or denture.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations 

As soon as your final restoration has been created, you’ll return to our office for the final step in your dental implant treatment. Using the abutment piece, we’ll securely attach your new teeth to the dental implant post. We’ll check that your bite feels comfortable and make any necessary minor adjustments, and then you’ll be ready to start enjoying your newly rebuilt smile!

While dental implants may require a longer, more complex process than other tooth replacement options like dentures and dental bridges, we truly believe that they’re a worthwhile investment in your long-term wellbeing. If you’re ready to permanently replace your missing teeth with the next best thing, call us today to schedule your consultation!

Day-to-Day Benefits

• You Get to Eat Your Favorite Foods: Not only do dental implants last longer, but they make basic tasks like chewing your favorite foods easy. Whether you’re chewing your favorite cut of steak or you’re biting into an apple, there’s never any worry of your replacement tooth becoming loose or falling out.
• They’re Easy to Maintain: Dental implants do not require special tools for cleaning. Instead, you can use a soft-bristled toothbrush, nonabrasive toothpaste, regular dental floss, and an antimicrobial mouthwash to keep your real and artificial teeth healthy.
• You’ll Feel More Confident: When looking in the mirror to see your complete smile, you’ll feel more confident moving forward with your day because of how natural your dental implants look.

Health Benefits

• They Offer Jawbone Stimulation: The placement of your dental implants means that they fuse with the existing bone over time. As a result, they will continue to stimulate your jawbone so that the chances of bone loss and facial sagging are significantly reduced.
• They Keep Natural Teeth in Place: Tooth loss often leads to the misalignment of natural teeth because they tend to shift over time. With dental implants, though, everything stays in place.
• You Enjoy Better Overall Health: Tooth loss is commonly linked to an array of diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and even osteoporosis. By choosing dental implants to replace missing teeth, you can lower your risk of these systemic issues and enjoy better overall health.

Long-Term Benefits

• They Have a High Success Rate: Dental implants maintain success rates as high as 98 percent, even after 10 years.
• They Have Greater Longevity: Since dental implants integrate with your existing bone and gum tissue, you can expect your tooth to last significantly longer than other tooth replacement methods (30+ years)!

You’ll Save More Money: Traditional dentures and dental bridges require regular replacement over time; however, dental implants, although they cost more upfront, will save you money in the long run. You won’t need to buy denture adhesives or see your implant dentist in Midland for replacements as long as you commit to taking proper care of your new smile.

Missing One Tooth

To replace just one tooth, a single implant is placed inside of the jaw, then closely monitored to ensure the healing process is successful. Afterward, an abutment is placed to both stabilize the eventual restoration and keep it attached in the long-term. A ceramic crown is placed on top, which keeps your smile looking natural.

Missing Multiple Teeth

To replace multiple consecutive teeth at a time, a pair of dental implants can be placed to hold a dental bridge. Instead of modifying existing tooth enamel so it can effectively hold the restoration, the implants themselves do all of the heavy lifting. This is ideal if you don’t want to affect your current tooth enamel.

Missing All Teeth

To replace all teeth in a given arch or multiple teeth on opposite sides of the mouth, an implant denture can be held with a series of dental implants. One of the benefits of this method is that you can often replace an entire arch of teeth with just four to six dental implants.

Types of Dental Implants

One factor that can impact the cost of your dental implant treatment is the type of restoration you require. For smaller replacement cases, such as a single missing tooth, you will only need one dental implant that supports a single customized crown. However, if you’re missing an entire arch of teeth, you’ll likely need anywhere from four to eight dental implants placed in order to hold a customized denture. When you visit our office for a consultation, we’ll examine the extent of your tooth-loss and speak with you about what types of implant-supported restorations would help solve your issue. A good rule of thumb to go by is the more teeth you need replaced, the more costly the treatment will be.

What Are the Stages of Dental Implant Treatment?

A great benefit of the dental implant procedure is that it takes place over the course of several appointments and months due to the healing periods involved. This allows patients to pay for individual appointments as they happen, making it easier to budget and financially plan so the procedure doesn’t break the bank. There are several different parts of the treatment that may incur separate fees. Some of these include:

• The consultation
• Sedation needed during surgery
• Surgery
• Abutment placement
• The creation and placement of the restoration

Are Dental Implants Worth the Investment?

Patients and dental professionals will agree that dental implants are well worth the financial investment. They offer so many unique advantages that you won’t be able to get with traditional restorations and that can preserve your overall wellbeing. Some of these include:

• Prevention of jawbone deterioration
• Better stability and strength
• Preservation of facial structure
• Boosted confidence

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

Unfortunately, most dental insurance providers don’t cover the cost of dental implants due to the fact that they still consider them a “cosmetic” treatment. However, this is starting to change. That’s why it’s a good idea to always contact your provider directly to ask. Plus, Dr. Philipps offers additional financing options and will gladly help you learn more about new avenues of coverage.