Dental Implants – West Caldwell, NJ

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

During your dental implant consultation, we'll assess your candidacy for the implant placement surgery. Based on our evaluation, preparatory procedures like bone grafting may be recommended before proceeding to the next phase. This ensures that your journey towards a confident, restored smile is tailored to your specific needs and sets the foundation for successful implantation.

Dental Implant Surgery

To ensure your comfort, we'll administer local anesthesia before starting your implant surgery. Following this, an incision will be made in your gums, allowing us to strategically place the dental implant post(s) into your jawbone. This approach is essential to ensure the stability and longevity of your implants, setting the stage for a strong foundation for your new, confident smile.

Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement

The process of osseointegration, where your dental implant posts seamlessly fuse with your jawbone, typically spans three to six months. Once this vital integration is complete, we can affix an abutment to each post. These abutments play a pivotal role as they will eventually serve as the anchors for your final restoration, ensuring a secure and natural fit that completes your revitalized smile.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations

To craft a custom crown, bridge, or denture that seamlessly blends with your natural teeth, we'll begin by taking a precise impression of your mouth. Once the restoration is designed and fabricated, we'll arrange a final appointment to securely attach it to your dental implant post(s). This last step ensures that your new restoration fits comfortably and functions flawlessly, completing your smile transformation with precision and care.

Day-to-Day Benefits

• Lifelike Results: Dental implant restorations are designed to mimic the appearance of your natural teeth. Meanwhile, the dental implants themselves will feel like a natural part of your body once they’ve joined with your jaw.
• Expanded Dietary Choices: Dental implants can help restore around 80% or more of your natural chewing power, allowing you to eat all of your favorite foods. Additionally, you’ll be free to enjoy all kinds of beverages without having to worry much about the temperature affecting your restorations, such as with dentures and dental bridges.
• Boosted Confidence: Unlike traditional dentures, dental implants will stay firmly in place at all times. This means you can feel completely comfortable while eating or talking. For this reason, you might also feel more confident about your smile, making you more likely to show off your new and beautiful grin. The act of smiling more often can even help boost your immune system.

Health Benefits

• Jawbone Preservation: The implant posts will provide your jaw with the stimulation needed to prevent bone loss. This means you might be able to prevent or even reverse jawbone deterioration, allowing you to preserve the rest of your smile as well as a more youthful facial structure.
• Simple Dental Care: While dental bridges and dentures usually require the use of special tools or techniques to maintain them, you’ll simply need to brush, floss, and rinse your dental implants to keep them clean. This also means your results as well as your oral health will be much easier to take care of, making you more likely to avoid complications like decay and gum disease.
• No Sensitivity or Irritation: Dentures rely on the gum line while dental bridges are supported by adjacent healthy teeth, which can often lead to sensitivity or irritation in those areas. Dental implants, however, are embedded into the jawbone like natural pearly whites, so you won’t have to worry about soreness in the gums or nearby teeth with your results.

Long-Term Benefits

• Long-Lasting Solution: Dental implants can potentially last several decades to a lifetime provided that they receive proper maintenance. This means you’ll just need to brush, floss, rinse with mouthwash, and visit your dentist for routine checkups every six months to make the most of them.
• Cost-Effective Treatment: While they come with higher upfront costs, dental implants won’t need to be replaced as often as dentures or dental bridges. You also won’t need to get special products to maintain them, and they last decades to a lifetime. This means you can actually save more in the long run.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

You might be a candidate for dental implants if you meet the following criteria:

• You are missing at least one tooth.
• You don’t have any health issues that would prevent you from having surgery done.
• Your mouth is free of gum disease.
• There is enough bone in your jaw to support dental implant posts.

We’ll help you figure out whether you’re a candidate for implant surgery during your initial consultation. Then, we’ll explain what kind of implant treatment you’ll need based on the number of teeth you’re missing.

Missing One Tooth

A single dental implant post can be placed in the area of the jaw where the tooth used to be. After it has fused with the bone, we can restore it with a dental crown that matches the shape, size, and color of your natural teeth. Choosing a dental implant crown over a traditional dental bridge means we won’t have to remove any of your natural enamel.

Missing Multiple Tooth

The implant bridge allows for the replacement of multiple missing teeth while providing stability and bone retention. By adding dental implants to your dental bridge, you can replace multiple missing teeth and avoid a partial denture.

Missing All Teeth

One of the greatest challenges that come from dentures is a good fit. Instead of relying on the natural suction of your gum line, a few dental implants can hold your dentures in place, providing the foundation your new teeth need to remain stable. In turn, you’ll also be able to enjoy greater confidence while eating and speaking.

All-On-4 Dental Implants

The All-on-4 procedure is a special kind of dental implant treatment that involves replacing an entire row of teeth with just four implant posts. Said posts are placed at specific angles that let them take advantage of the areas of the jaw where bone density is highest; this makes the All-on-4 procedure a viable option even for those who have experienced bone loss.

Learn More About All-On-4

Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery

First, of all, there’s the cost of the treatments that precede actually getting your dental implants. The fact that this method of tooth replacement requires surgery means that your oral health needs to be in good condition before investing in dental implants. You may need gum disease therapy, a bone graft, or a tooth extraction, and should factor the cost of these treatments into the final price of care.

Then there’s the surgery itself. While the construction of the dental implant itself is obviously a factor, you also need to consider where you’re getting yours from. If it seems like placing a dental implant will need to be done by an external specialist, they’re likely to have their own rates that you’ll have to ask them about.

The Parts of Your Dental Implant

Then, there are the parts of your dental implant itself. There are several variables in a dental implant’s construction that can contribute to its price.

For one, there’s the type of restoration you’re using for the implant. Crowns tend to be cheaper than bridges, which are in turn less expensive than dentures. Where the implant is located in your mouth is also a factor, as implants that are replacing certain teeth may need to be thinner or made of a different material (e.g. zirconia instead of titanium).

While it might seem little surprising, dental implants also have brands like any other product, and some are more expensive than others. We’ll walk you through all of your options when we meet you in person and will help you figure out which style of implant is best for you.

How Dental Implants Can Save You Money/ How Dental Implants Pay for Themselves

Among the various tooth replacement options currently on the market, it’s fair to say that dental implants often incur the highest upfront cost of any of them. It could be argued that their realism and bite strength are what make them worth the cost, but it’s also worth keeping in mind that dental implants need to be replaced much less often than dentures and bridges. As a matter of fact, they routinely outlast them by a matter of two-to-one.

Even if you wind up spending twice as much for your dental implants as you would for a bridge, you’ll have to replace them half as often. This means that you’ll still save money in the long run and reap the benefits of higher-quality tooth replacement.

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

Generally speaking, dental implants aren’t covered by insurance. However, there are some exceptions to the rule, which means that it’s often worth consulting with your dental plan about whether they’re willing to cover a portion of your restoration. We’ll be happy to facilitate this for you, and to ensure that you get the most out of your benefits.

Making Dental Implants Affordable 

Even if your insurance doesn’t come through, there are options available to you that may potentially make care considerably more affordable. For one, if you see us often you may be interested in our in-house savings plan. This affords you discounts on several of the treatments you get from us, in addition to many complimentary preventive services.

We also accept CareCredit, which is like a health and wellness credit card that can be used to pay for dental care. You can potentially split the cost of care into smaller installments, putting previously unattainable care into your reach.

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

Dental implants can’t get cavities, but the soft tissue around them can still be a target for gum disease. An infection of the gums can easily lead to dental implant failure; as such, practicing oral hygiene remains as important as ever once you receive your implant posts. Naturally, this entails brushing at least twice a day while also flossing thoroughly. Additionally, you can look for ADA-approved mouthwash that can help further reduce the presence of harmful bacteria in your mouth.

Eat a Healthy Diet

To protect your dental implants as well as the rest of your smile, you need to make sure that you’re eating the right foods. Try to limit your intake of sugar and starch, as they can easily lead to oral health issues. Conversely, you should make an effort to eat more fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, dairy products, and lean proteins. The nutrients they contain can go a long way toward promoting a healthy mouth where dental implants can thrive.

Break Bad Habits

There are certain habits that seem harmless on the surface but could end up damaging your dental implants if you’re not careful. Examples include:

• Crunching ice, peppermints, and other hard foods.
• Chewing on your fingernails.
• Tearing open packages with your teeth.
• Biting the end of your pen or pencil.

If you regularly engage in any of these habits, it’s important to break them as soon as you can in order to avoid issues with your dental implants in the long run.

Protect Your Dental Implants

Do you play any sort of sport? If so, you need to take precautions against sudden blows to the mouth or jaw that might end up breaking your dental implants. It’s best to always wear an athletic mouthguard whenever you head out onto the field or court – even if you’re not explicitly required to wear one.

Additionally, people who grind their teeth at night should wear a nightguard. The purpose of this oral appliance is to keep the upper and lower arches separated, thus protecting your dental implants and your natural teeth from damage.

Schedule Regular Dental Checkups

Of course, as important as the care you give dental implants at home is, it’s just as vital to schedule a routine dental checkup once every six months. During this visit, your dentist can take a look at your dental implants and let you know if there are any problems developing. Addressing the small issues as quickly as possible could end up making all the difference for your newly restored smile.

What to Do Directly After Dental Implant Surgery

One of your top priorities after your dental implant surgery should be preventing a dry socket. This condition occurs if the blood clot that forms at the implant site is disturbed, and it can cause quite a bit of pain while also slowing down your recovery. Focus on avoiding anything that might dislodge your blood clot, such as drinking through a straw, using cigarettes, or directly touching the implant site.

Common Side Effects When Recovering from Dental Implant Placement

Steps will be taken to keep you as comfortable as possible during your dental implant surgery, but afterward, you may experience some soreness in your mouth for a few days. Taking over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen can often help you manage this particular symptom. If you notice any swelling, try holding a cold compress over the area for 10-minute intervals. And if bleeding occurs, you can stop it by gently pressing down with a piece of gauze.

Your Diet After Dental Implant Surgery

During the initial healing period, you should only eat soft or liquid foods that won’t cause problems with your blood clot. Scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, and pasta are excellent examples of foods that you will be able to eat. You can also have soup, but make sure that it isn’t too hot. Exposing the implant site to hot or cold temperatures can potentially lead to irritation.

Post-Op Health & Oral Hygiene

After the first 24 hours following your dental implant placement, you will be able to brush your teeth like you normally do. However, when brushing around the surgical site, you will need to be very gentle to avoid disturbing your implant posts. In order to keep your mouth as clean as possible, you should rinse with salt water at least two or three times a day. Antibacterial mouthwash can also be used as long as it does not contain alcohol.

What to Do After Your New Teeth Are Attached

Compared to dental implant surgery, attaching replacement teeth to your dental implant posts is a much simpler procedure. There’s no extensive recovery period to worry about, and the main symptom you’re likely to notice is mild sensitivity in your gums. There shouldn’t be any bleeding or swelling at this stage. In the event that you notice any unusual symptoms, you should contact our office to let us know immediately.

How Long Do Dental Implants Last? 

Dental implants are shockingly reliable—around 95% of them are successful at 20 years, and many last over thirty. It’s fairly common for a well-made set of dental implants to even last you a lifetime! This is considerably longer than dentures or bridges.

How long your artificial tooth will last depends heavily on how well you take care of them. You should make sure you brush, floss, and rinse your mouth out with mouthwash every day to break up any bacterial deposits.

Will I Have to Take Off Work for Dental Implant Surgery?

Dental implant aftercare isn’t all that intense. Most people don’t need to take very much, if any, time off of work. Most people who work desk or retail jobs should only have to take one or two days off at most.

However, it is recommended that you steer clear of intense exercise for at least a few days after treatment. If you have a high-intensity job, you might do better to take off for three to four days, or try and get the surgery close to the weekend. We’ll advise you on whether you need to take off from work based on what it is that you do.

Will People Be Able to Tell That I Have Dental Implants?

We pride ourselves on thorough, meticulous work. We will take pictures and notes about your smile that will be used to inform the design of your dental implant to ensure that it will perfectly resemble your natural tooth.

Dental implants are also made from incredibly high-quality materials, and are inserted into your jaw just like a natural tooth. All this to say that people will have a very hard time telling that you’ve had dental work done.

Do Dental Implants Make You Look Younger?

When you lose a tooth, it’s common for the part of the jaw that once held it to atrophy, causing it to shrink over time. Ordinarily, the jaw supports the cheeks like poles in a tent, and when it deteriorates you can start to develop premature wrinkles.

Dental implants stimulate the jawbone, stopping the process of atrophy and aging that comes with tooth loss. In that way, it is fair to say that dental implants can make you look younger!