Dental Implants – Arlington, TX

The Initial Consultation

Every dental implant treatment begins with an in-depth consultation with Dr. Deepti Namineni. During your visit, you’ll have a chance to speak with her about your expectations, smile goals, and all of your tooth replacement options.

Our team at Sonria Dentista of Arlington will also collect any necessary diagnostic information, like a scan of your facial structure with our cone beam CT scanner. This will allow us to determine whether any preliminary treatments are necessary, like a bone graft. In some cases, you may need to undergo additional procedures before you can successfully have your dental implants placed.

Dental Implant Placement

After Dr. Namineni has outlined your treatment plan with you and answered any lingering questions you may have, you’ll be able to choose whether you want to move forward with the next step, dental implant surgery. If so, our team will schedule your procedure for you. Due to Dr. Namineni’s extensive experience and training, she will be able to complete this part of the process in-house, eliminating the need for a referral to another office.

During the surgery, Dr. Namineni will make small windows in the gums to secure the dental implants within the jawbone. When finished, she will stitch the gums closed to allow them to heal around the implants.

Osseointegration & Abutment Attachment

For the following three to six months after your surgery, you’ll heal. During this time, your dental implants will also fuse with your jawbone through a process called osseointegration. This step is critical for the long-term success of your dental implants and restoration, so our team wants to make sure that this natural healing and fusion process is successful.

Once osseointegration is complete, you’ll return to our office for a minimally invasive abutment placement procedure. Abutments are small metal connector pieces that are attached to the tops of your implants that will be responsible for anchoring your prosthetic within your mouth.

Securing the Final Restorations

The final step of your procedure will be to complete your smile! When our team has received your custom-crafted dental crown, bridge, or denture from our dental laboratory and your gums have healed around your abutments, we’ll call you back into the office. We’ll make sure that the restorations match your natural tooth color and ensure they fit perfectly before attaching them to your abutments and completing your grin.

Day-to-Day Benefits

Like many other patients, you might not have truly realized how important healthy teeth are until they are gone. The good news is that dental implants are the next best thing, which means they can improve your overall quality of life. To be more specific, here are a few day-to-day benefits that you’ll enjoy with this state-of-the-art tooth-replacement solution:

• Easier Maintenance: While other tooth-replacement solutions require special oral hygiene products, like denture cleaner, dental implants don’t. In fact, you can use all of the same products you use to clean your natural teeth (i.e., soft-bristled toothbrush, fluoridated toothpaste, antimicrobial mouthwash).
• Increased Confidence: If you’ve had dentures in the past that didn’t fit quite right, they might have slipped at inopportune moments, like when talking to a friend. You won’t have to worry about that with dental implants because they don’t compromise on look or stability!
• Ability to Eat Most Foods: While tooth loss limits your diet, dental implants expand it! Once you’ve healed, you’ll be able to enjoy a wide variety of foods, which helps prevent everything from malnutrition to boring meals.

Health Benefits

In addition to improving your day-to-day life, dental implants can improve your oral and overall health. A few examples include:

• Jawbone Preservation: Unlike traditional dental bridges and dentures, implant-supported teeth are rooted in the jawbone. This not only makes them extremely stable and secure, but it also saves the gums from experiencing constant pressure during chewing which can lead to soreness and infection.
• Protection for Natural Teeth: Some tooth-replacement solutions require the teeth surrounding the gap to be altered, even if they are completely healthy. Not dental implants! Since they are self-supporting, they can replace a single tooth or multiple teeth throughout your mouth while leaving your natural ones perfectly intact.
• Better Overall Health: Tooth loss can lead to several unwanted consequences, including trouble chewing, restricted diets, and malnutrition. Since dental implants replace the root and crown of the tooth, they restore your bite power and, in turn, improve your overall health.

Long-Term Benefits

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons roughly 500,000 patients a year choose dental implants is because of the long-term benefits they offer, including:

• High Success Rate: Dental implants have an unheard-of 95% success rate, and some studies have found that number is even higher among non-smoking patients.
• Youthful Appearance: In addition to preventing bone loss, dental implants fill out your smile, preventing your cheeks from looking sunken in.
• Long-Lasting Results: Dental implants have been shown to last for 25+ years with routine care, which is multiple times longer compared to other prosthetics that typically need to be replaced every 5-10 years.

Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery

Based on your case, you may need other services before dental implant surgery. These extra procedures can range from gum disease treatment to tooth extractions or even bone grafts. They’d add to your expenses but also further ensure your implants’ success. The bright side is that most are partly covered by dental insurance.

Of course, your dental implant surgery will also incur its own cost. Its price will largely depend on what (if any) anesthesia is used, implant location, and similar matters. Thankfully, we provide the entire surgery in-house; you won’t have to worry about working with an outside surgeon.

The Parts of Your Dental Implant

In the end, even your dental implant’s parts will impact its final cost. The most notable of these include:

• Implant Number – In general, treatment costs more when it involves more implants.
• Material Used – Most dental implants use titanium, but not all of them. Some are made of zirconia and cost more as a result.
• Implant Brand – An implant’s brand will partly affect its cost. Since different providers cater to distinct needs, each one charges its own price.
• Restoration Type – The reality is that dental crowns, bridges, and dentures have differing costs. Often, the less expensive of these restorations are the smaller ones.

How Dental Implants Pay for Themselves

Initially, you may think dentures and dental bridges cost less than dental implants. The first two choices have a lower upfront price than the “gold standard” option. Still, dental implants really are the more cost-effective treatment in the long run.

You see, dental implants tend to have very long lifespans; they can last for 30 years or more with good care. That means they often don’t need replacement or adjustment visits every few years. As a result, implants won’t force you to pay for adhesives or pastes to keep them functional. You can care for them like natural teeth and save money otherwise spent on follow-up care.

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

Dental insurance rarely ever covers dental implants, though there are rare cases. Your own plan may offer coverage for part of your treatment – a percentage of your restoration, a preliminary service, etc. Given this fact, please consult your insurance provider before you commit to anything. We at Sonria Dentista of Arlington will gladly help you do so.

Making Dental Implants Affordable

If you lack dental insurance, don’t worry; dental implants can still be affordable. All you need to do is try one of our office’s helpful payment options! In particular, we offer a flexible financing program with CareCredit – a reputable 3^rd party financier. They would let you pay for implants in monthly installments with little or no interest attached.

As you can see, our dental implants don’t have to “break the bank.” To ensure they fit your budget, just visit our office for a consultation.

What to Do Directly After Dental Implant Surgery

When your dental implants are placed, you need to leave the forming blood clot alone. Touching or poking it would only delay (or reverse) your recovery. So, please remember to:

 

• Keep your fingers and tongue away from the surgical site(s) for a few days
• Not spit and instead (if necessary) swallow your saliva or use a tissue for dabbing
• Avoid using tobacco products in the first 24 hours after surgery
• Not use drinking straws for a while, as suction force can dislodge a blood clot

 

Common Side Effects When Recovering from Dental Implant Placement

You’ll likely endure some mild side effects soon after dental implant placement. The most common ones include:

 

• Mouth-Related Discomfort – Your treatment site may ache once the surgery’s anesthesia wears off. At that point, use some store-bought pain relievers to ease your soreness.
• Facial or Gum Swelling –  72 hours after implant surgery, your face or gums could swell a bit. Please apply a cold compress if that happens.
• Intermittent Bleeding – It’s common for the treatment site to bleed slightly after placement. To lessen this effect, both gauze and light pressure should be applied.

 

Rest assured that the above effects are temporary; they’ll subside after a few days. If they don’t or get worse, please contact us.

 

Your Diet After Dental Implant Surgery

You should follow a soft food diet after your dental implant surgery. While healing, chewing a tough meal would dislodge your blood clot and delay recovery.

 

As part of your soft food diet, you could have:

 

• (Non-hot) Soup 
• Pasta
• Pudding
• Sweet Potatoes
• Scrambled Eggs
• Yogurt
• Soft Cheese
• Smoothies
• Mashed Potatoes 
• Ice Cream

 

You should be ready to resume a normal diet a few weeks after surgery (or if you’re up to it). That said, you should still limit the crunchy and tough foods you have. You also mustn’t chew directly on the implant site(s).

Post-Op Health & Oral Hygiene

Even if you’re healing from dental implant work, your mouth still needs daily cleaning.

You should still practice good oral hygiene as you recover. With that said, consider these tips:

 

• Be careful of the surgical site(s) when brushing your teeth twice daily.
• Twice or thrice daily, rinse your mouth with salt water. You could also do oral rinses with a prescription mouthwash.
• Don’t use a mouthwash that has a high level of alcohol (i.e., Scope, Listerine, etc.).

 

What to Do After Your New Teeth Are Attached

Once your new dental crown, bridge, or denture is attached to the implant, the hardest part of treatment is over. The most you’ll feel is some slight gum sensitivity, which you can easily manage with painkillers. You won’t have any further swelling, bleeding, or extensions in your recovery, so go ahead and enjoy your restored grin!

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

You may have heard of gingivitis, but have you heard of peri-implantitis? It’s a form of gum disease that can lead to dental implant failure. In fact, it’s one of the leading causes of dental implant failure! The best way to prevent it is by making oral hygiene a priority. That includes brushing twice a day, coming in for a dental checkup and teeth cleaning twice a year, and everything in between.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Remember, what you eat impacts your oral health as well as your dental implant. If, for example, you eat taffy, peanut brittle, hard pretzels, and other sticky and crunchy foods, then it won’t take long for the condition of your teeth, your gums, and your restoration to suffer. So, do your best to stick to a well-balanced diet that’s filled with softer, nutrient-dense foods, including oatmeal and scrambled eggs.

Break Bad Habits

When people think of bad habits, they often think of smoking. While that’s certainly one of them, it’s also important to look at other ways you’re putting your smile at risk. That includes biting your nails, using your teeth to open things, chewing on the back of your pen, and skipping your biannual dental checkups and teeth cleanings.

Protect Your Dental Implants

Breaking bad habits, like using tobacco products, will certainly go a long way when it comes to protecting your dental implants. That said, there are additional measures you need to take to ensure yours stay in pristine condition, including wearing a mouthguard when you participate in physical activities, like running.

Note: If you grind or clench your teeth at night, you should also wear a nightguard!

Schedule Regular Dental Checkups

There’s a common misconception that routine dental visits are no longer needed if you don’t have any teeth. That’s not the case! After all, gum disease, oral cancer, and other serious oral health issues can still develop. Plus, your biannual appointments allow us to check the condition of your dental implants and clear away plaque and tartar.