One of the most frustrating dental issues are missing teeth. At Beverly Restorative and Implant Dentistry Center, we offer permanent solutions for you to become comfortable with your healthy smile. Common causes of missing teeth are trauma due to injury, gum disease, and tooth decay. Some people also suffer missing teeth due to genetics. Whatever the reason, we are fully prepared to help you at BRAIDC.
Bridge
If you have one or two missing teeth, we may use a bridge to replace them. Teeth on both sides of the area are crowned, and then they linked by a pontic. A bridge restores function and leaves a natural look. They are also safe for chewing, brushing, and other normal daily activities. This solution is permanent, as it is cemented into the surrounding teeth.
Dental Implants
A dental implant is essentially a screw. Made of surgical grade titanium, it’s built to last and is highly resilient to the daily stress that we often put on our teeth. The screw is inserted into the jaw bone, where it acts as an artificial root. After it is in place, a crown, bridge, or denture can be attached to it. After inserting the dental implant, it’s necessary to wait three or four months before attaching anything. This is because we want to be sure that the implant settles properly and the surrounding area heals and remains unaffected. Only when it is fully healed can restoration continue. In comparison to a fixed bridge, dental implants are the more durable solution. A single tooth can be replaced without involving any of the neighboring teeth. Because it is inserted directly into the jaw, it’s a reliable and long-term solution.
Before
After
Below is an example of the process of getting an implant: The tooth is either not present to begin with, or extracted, and then the implant is placed, and finally the implant crown is placed, completing the process. The final product of this process is also featured below, showing that unless you are aware of the implant, it it impossible to notice it is there.
Guided Surgery
To ensure maximal precision and safety for your implant surgery, we use the latest imaging and digital impression technology to plan the implant placement. When the implant is placed according to where the tooth is supposed to be, that will assist best long term stability and minimize chance of failure.
The above images show an example of how the office makes an Surgical Guide for implant surgery, of which we take a digital impression of your mouth and using that create the surgical guide. In the first two images you can see a red circle and a red line, which represents the sensory nerve. The surgical guide allows us to model the mouth to make sure that when placing the implant, that no nerves are damaged. The third image shows that when placing the implant, we want to make sure it is placed properly so that the final crown is aligned with all the other teeth, so the surgical guide is also created with this in mind, so there are minimal mistakes when the implant surgery occurs. This is another way implant failure and risk is minimized.
Using this information, we then print out using 3D printer technology the surgical guide, as featured below. This allows for the implant placement surgery to go smoothly, and any restorations after the fact to be seamless in the mouth as well.
To schedule an appointment with our Beverly dentist, please call us at 978-232-9003 or request a dental appointment online.