Dental Implants in Southfield, MI

Tooth loss has a serious impact on our lives, affecting both our physical and emotional well-being. It can hinder our ability to chew and speak effectively, diminish our self-esteem, and even lead to a decline in overall oral health. Unfortunately, the likelihood of tooth loss due to decay and infection increases with age. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) demonstrates that over 30% of Michigan’s adults ages 65+ have lost six or more teeth due to tooth decay and gum disease, which requires prompt treatment. Fortunately, Aesthetic Dental has a solution! If you’re experiencing the many consequences of tooth loss, dental implants can help.

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are a key component of restorative dentistry. These titanium screws replace your missing teeth by anchoring restorations like crowns, bridges, and dentures in place.

Dental Implants in Southfield, MI Book a Free Consultation TodayWe gently place implants in your jawbone, where they quickly begin to stabilize thanks to their biocompatible design. The titanium material bonds with your bone, forming a strong and lasting connection.

In contrast with more traditional tooth replacement methods, dental implants provide the stability that patients deserve.

Implant-supported prosthetics not only stay in place, but they also offer incredible benefits like:

  • A stronger bite: Traditional dentures and bridges may be secure at first, but they often lose their fit over time. This poor fit weakens your ability to chew, putting limitations on your diet. Fortunately, implants keep your smile secure, allowing you to chew all your favorite foods again.
  • Better bone health: Unlike traditional dentures or bridges, implants replace both the crown and root of the missing tooth. Tooth roots naturally stimulate the jawbone and help keep it healthy. When a root is missing, the bone shrinks. Dental implants take over this role, helping to prevent bone loss and keep your jaw strong.
  • Lasting results: Over time, dentures and bridges lose their fit and become worn down. When this occurs, you’ll need to adjust or replace them to restore proper function. In contrast, implant-supported restorations last a lifetime!

What To Expect When Getting Dental Implants

With conventional dental implants, the process is spread out over a series of appointments.

Free Consultation

At Aesthetic Dental, we begin treatment with a free consultation. During this appointment, we’ll take a 3D digital X-ray of your smile to assess the quality of your jawbone.

Having the proper bone quality and dimensions is critical. Think of it this way: placing an implant in your bone is a little like hanging a picture on a wall. While you can hang a frame without finding a stud, it will eventually fall without a solid anchor. The same applies to implants: you need a strong, healthy jawbone to support the implant and help ensure successful tooth replacement.

Unfortunately, many patients lack the jawbone structure that conventional implants require. However, we can often use additional procedures, such as bone grafts, to rebuild the bone and help patients restore their smiles.

Bone Graft

If you’ve lost bone due to missing teeth, bone grafting surgery can help restore it. We use your own bone, donor tissue, or a safe synthetic material. We place the graft material onto or into the area needing repair. The graft gradually fuses with your jaw and acts as a scaffold for new bone growth.

Because this is an oral surgery, your body will need time to recover before implant placement. To speed up healing, we may recommend L-PRF therapy. This treatment uses a small sample of your blood to create a special healing membrane that helps reduce post-operative discomfort and support bone growth.

After a healing period of a few months, we can proceed with your implants.

Implant Placement

To place dental implants, we start with a local anesthetic to keep you comfortable. Then, we create an incision in your gums to reach the jaw underneath. Using a series of drills, we carefully make a hole in your bone, large enough to fit the implant body. Over the next 3 to 6 months, the implant screw will integrate with your jawbone, forming a strong connection.

Once the implant body is stable, we’ll reopen your gums to place the abutment. This connector piece attaches a replacement tooth to the implant body. We may place a temporary restoration to maintain the aesthetics of your smile as your mouth heals.

While you’re healing, you’ll need to follow some special guidelines. At Aesthetic Dental, we take the guesswork out of the healing process, providing you with a patient care and recipe book.

Then, once your final custom restoration is ready and your mouth has fully healed, we’ll complete your tooth replacement journey.

Explore the Mini Dental Implant Difference

While conventional dental implants are a reliable solution, they may not be the best option for every patient.

If you’re looking to skip the long healing periods and additional procedures, you may be a good candidate for mini dental implants!

Dental Implants in Southfield, MI | Dental Implants vs. Mini Dental Implants
On the left is a mini dental implant (less than 3 mm in diameter). On the right is a conventional dental implant (about 5 mm in diameter).

These titanium posts are half the size of a standard implant, measuring less than 3 mm wide. Because of their size, more people are eligible for implant solutions than ever before.

These narrow implants are ideal for individuals with bone loss who may not have qualified for traditional options or were told they needed a bone graft. With mini implants, bone grafting is typically unnecessary.

These implants also improve the design of the traditional model. Mini implants are a single unit featuring an integrated connector. The connector end, which looks like a small ball, attaches to artificial teeth using a rubber O-ring.

While mini implants reduce the size and simplify the design of a standard implant, these aspects don’t diminish their effectiveness. Studies indicate high survival rates equivalent to those of standard implants!

Restore Your Smile With Dental Implants

Replacing missing teeth with dental implants is essential for improving chewing and speaking ability, enhancing your smile, and maintaining oral health. With over 70 years of combined experience in dentistry, the skilled staff at Aesthetic Dental brings the expertise needed to provide effective, long-lasting tooth replacement solutions.

Whether you are missing one tooth or many, your journey to a complete, confident smile begins here. Contact us today to schedule a free implant consultation at Aesthetic Dental.

Frequently Asked Questions

A strong candidate for dental implants is typically someone over 18 years old who has a healthy jawbone and gums. If your tooth loss is a result of advanced gum disease, we will take steps to control the infection before beginning implant treatment.

It’s important to note that eligibility for dental implants may be affected by various factors, such as:

  • Tobacco use
  • Radiation or chemotherapy
  • Compromised immune system
  • Diabetes
  • Poor oral hygiene, including severe decay
  • Pregnancy
  • Bone diseases
  • Vascular diseases
  • Unmanaged bruxism
  • Specific medications

For individuals with conditions like diabetes, we may consider implant placement once the condition is consistently under control.

During your free consultation, we will thoroughly review your medical history, discuss your lifestyle habits, and examine your smile to determine if dental implants are an appropriate treatment.

Investing in dental implants is an important decision, and at Aesthetic Dental, we’re committed to making it more accessible. Mini dental implants offer a more affordable option, so quality tooth replacement doesn’t have to be out of reach.

We also work closely with you to navigate your insurance policy and maximize your benefits. For out-of-pocket expenses, we’re proud to partner with trusted third-party lenders like CareCredit and Proceed to provide flexible financing solutions. These companies offer flexible plans that let you customize your loan term, making it easier to manage monthly payments within your budget.

When placing dental implants, we administer a local anesthetic to keep you comfortable throughout the procedure. Additionally, we offer oral conscious sedation and nitrous oxide for patients with dental anxiety or those needing complex surgery. With these sedation options, you remain relaxed yet alert as we perform your dental work.

And, when placing mini dental implants, we use a minimally invasive procedure that facilitates faster and more comfortable healing. Over-the-counter medications are typically all that’s needed to manage soreness after the procedure.