Dental Implants

Teeth Implants in Winston-Salem

Dental implants are designed to replace the root of a missing tooth and can be used to support crowns, bridges, or dentures. Teeth implants are considered the gold standard for tooth replacement.

What is a Dental Implant?

The root-form implant is the most common type and basically consists of three main components:

1. Implant screw – This part of the implant is made of titanium and is surgically placed in the bone. Titanium is accepted by the body extremely well and fuses with the bone (called osseointegration) during the healing process.
2. Abutment – This is a metal collar that attaches to the top of the implant screw and is the base for a crown, bridge, or denture.
3. Crown – The crown is the manufactured tooth that fits on top of the abutment. Bridges and dentures can also be secured to the abutment. The placement of the crown, bridge, or denture is the final step of the implant process.

When Are Teeth Implants Necessary?

Implants are indicated whenever at least one tooth is missing. If the missing space(s) is not filled, the teeth surrounding the space often drift, the opposing teeth in the other arch will erupt further into the oral cavity (hypereruption) which can change your bite, bone erosion can occur in the area, and even changes in speech might occur.

The Effects of Tooth and Bone Loss

Teeth can be lost for a variety of reasons. Anything from disease, injury, birth defect, to decay can result in teeth being lost or removed. However, many dental and health problems can result from tooth loss or removal.

• Diet – Without properly aligned teeth, an individual might not be able to chew correctly, and diet could be affected. With missing teeth, or no teeth altogether, chewing becomes very difficult or impossible. The diet then becomes restricted to soft, easily chewed foods. This kind of diet might not meet the nutrition needs of the body which can cause constipation, weight loss, arthritis, indigestion, and rheumatism.
  Teeth are important to meeting the nutritional needs of the body. Without them, the health of the body can be severely impacted. When someone looses all their teeth , their life expectancy goes down about 10 years.
• Speech – Teeth play a major part in speech. Some letter sounds such as s, z, d, x, n, th, and sh are made with tongue-to-tooth contact. Without teeth, these sounds will not be able to be made easily and may result in a lisp. Lisping can be an embarrassing condition and may make it hard for you to be understood.
  The tongue is also affected by lost teeth. With no teeth to keep it in place, the tongue will broaden out and fill in the newly open space. This thickened tongue makes it harder to control and may also result in difficult-to-understand speech.
• Bone Loss in the Jaw – Teeth do more than just help us chew our food and speak. They actually serve to stimulate the bone in the jaw. Each time you chew, the teeth stimulate the bone. Without this natural stimulation, the alveolar bone–the portion of the jawbone that anchors teeth in the mouth–begins to break down and is re-absorbed into the body. Since there are no longer teeth there that “need” the jawbone, the bone deteriorates and disintegrates.
  The rate of deterioration varies per person; however, it begins almost immediately after a tooth is lost or removed and continues throughout life. Once deterioration reaches a certain point, dental prosthetics–such as dentures–will no longer be useful because there will not be enough bone to support them.
• Misalignment – Misalignment occurs when teeth no longer have an opposing tooth structure. The tooth with no counterpart can become loose, and the bone supporting it may begin to deteriorate because of lack of stimulation. Losing even one tooth may cause the remaining teeth to shift their position, altering an individual’s bite pattern and leading to pain in the head, neck, and jaw.
• Facial Appearance – Teeth are also designed to hold the lips and cheeks in place. When teeth are missing, the lips and cheeks do not have their natural support system. When closed, the mouth will appear “sunken in” without the support of the teeth. This can age the appearance of the person greatly.

Why Choose Winston-Salem Periodontics for Implant Dentistry?

Implants today are more technologically advanced than implants placed even five years ago, and give many patients the ability to chew comfortably when this was not possible before. While implants have been available for more than thirty years, due to their predictability implants now represent the standard of care for replacing missing teeth. Most studies show success rates better than 95%, and if an implant is well taken care of it should last a lifetime.

Dr. Nicole Wright utilizes the most up-to-date technology in planning and placing dental implants. A 3-D scan of the patient’s jaw bone is taken to assess their bone quality and quantity. This scan also helps her see where the important vital structures are (ie- nerves, vessels) and avoid them! In addition to state-of-the-art technology, a surgical guide is fabricated using the scan information. This guide precisely fits the patient’s teeth and assists with the pre-planned positioning of the implant. Utilization of these sophisticated technologies leads to more predictable and successful implant outcomes.

Oral Surgery

Another reason to choose Winston-Salem Periodontics is that we offer bone grafting procedures for patients that may require them in order to become implant dentistry candidates:

Bone Grafting – Guided Bone & Tissue Regeneration

Over time, periodontal disease can lead to breakdown of the bone and supporting structures that anchor the teeth into the jawbone. Bone Grafts are placed by periodontists with the goal of regenerating the bone lost from periodontal disease.

The bone grafting procedure, also known as “guided tissue regeneration”, is comprised of a few basic steps.

The first step after getting the affected tooth comfortable and numb is to gently reflect the gum tissue. Any diseased gum tissue is removed, and the root of the tooth is thoroughly cleaned. What often remains is a crater in the jawbone that has resulted from infection. Sometimes the periodontist will deposit a substance onto the root of the tooth and into the bone crater, which enhances the success of the Bone Graft.

Then a completely sterile Bone Graft is placed, which over time will become replaced by the body’s own natural bone.

A membrane is placed over the Bone Graft to prevent the gum tissue from growing into the Graft and to help contain the particles of the graft.
The gum tissue is re-positioned over the Bone Graft and membrane, and sutures are placed.

The periodontist will go over home instructions and provide prescriptions for the appropriate medications. A one-week follow-up is needed to observe healing and to make sure no infection develops.

Bone grafting is a remarkable procedure that can adds years of life to teeth with bone loss.

Ridge Augmentation

A ridge augmentation, or bone graft, is a common dental procedure often performed following a tooth extraction. This procedure helps recreate the natural contour of the gums and jaw that may have been lost due to a tooth extraction, trauma or genetic defect.

This type of bone graft rebuilds the foundation in preparation for a dental implant or in preparation for the replacement of a front tooth. Our doctors are trained in utilizing the latest bone regeneration techniques and biomaterials.

Ridge Preservation

When one or more teeth are extracted from the mouth, soft tissue and bone can begin to regress or collapse. Without the tooth root to stimulate it, the surrounding jaw bone will often begin to deteriorate shortly following the loss of a tooth. If there is significant bone loss, it may be impossible to place dental implants and may become more expensive, invasive, and time consuming to replace the lost bone. Loss of bone can lead to depressions or unevenness within the ridge, as its form is supported by the contour of the underlying bone. Ridge (or socket) preservation is a type of bone grafting procedure that rebuilds and stabilizes bone where an extraction has left an empty socket. It is recommended to have a ridge preservation procedure performed at the time of an extraction, as it helps to promote the esthetics of the ridge and avoid bony defects.

The Procedure

Ridge preservation procedures ideally begin with the removal of the tooth. The doctor will perform the extraction carefully so as to not disturb existing bone in the socket. Next, the doctor will place a specialized bone grafting product. This product can be an autogenous graft, allograft, or alloplast or xenograft material. The bone grafting material is designed to replace bone and stimulate bone growth in the socket. After it has been placed, the grafting material will be stabilized with sutures and possibly a collagen membrane. Healing time is approximately three to five months before a dental implant can be placed.

The Benefits

Ridge preservation can essentially minimize the amount of bone loss that occurs after the removal of one or more teeth. Leaving the socket empty after an extraction is likely to lead to deteriorating bone in the jaw, making it more difficult to place an implant later. This procedure is designed to prevent the collapsing of bone and soft tissue in the sockets.
Other benefits of ridge preservation include:

• Minimally invasive with minimal discomfort
• Prepares the site for future placement of a dental implant or other tooth replacement, reducing the need for additional grafting
• Maintains the esthetics of the ridge, especially for the front of the mouth
• Preserves a natural looking smile

Sinus Lift

A sinus lift, also known as a sinus augmentation, is a procedure employed by periodontists and oral surgeons to increase the amount of bone in the upper molar areas in preparation for placement of dental implants. This procedure only pertains to patients who want implants in the upper molar areas. Why would a patient need a sinus augmentation procedure prior to implant placement?

Basically, after the upper molars are removed (extracted), the sinus cavity tends to drift closer to the jawbone ridge. Over time, the borders of the sinus cavity may drift so close to the crest of the jaw that there may not be enough bone to place implants. By “lifting up” the membrane that covers the sinus floor, the surgeon is able to add bone graft material into the sinus cavity, which will later be replaced by your own natural bone.

After allowing 3-9 months for the bone graft to become solid and mature, dental implants can be placed. In some cases, implants can be placed at the time of the sinus lift procedure; however, that decision is up to the discretion of the surgeon.

The sinus augmentation procedure is a safe and predictable method to increase the amount of bone necessary for dental implants.

Schedule an Implant Dentistry Consultation in Winston-Salem!