Dental Implants – Melbourne, FL

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are small titanium posts that are surgically placed below the gumline and into the jawbone. Because titanium is a biocompatible material, the implants are able to fuse with the jawbone through a process called osseointegration, providing the structure with blood flow and keeping it from deteriorating over time. Once this has occurred, a customized restoration can be attached to the implants, restoring the missing teeth.

The 4-Step Dental Implant Process

Receiving dental implants looks much different compared to traditional restorations like bridges and dentures. It’s a longer, multi-step process that involves surgery, months of healing, and a thorough commitment to your smile’s health moving forward. That said, the payoff is huge—and you’ll enjoy a fully functional and healthy smile for decades to come. Here’s a closer look at the main steps that make up the dental implant process.

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Initial Dental Implant Consultation

The very first step of your dental implant journey is a consultation with Dr. Rowley. He’ll want to conduct an examination of your mouth and capture X-rays and digital imaging to ensure that dental implants are a viable solution for your tooth loss. Patients with insufficient jawbone density, periodontal disease, or other issues may need to undergo preparatory treatments before being cleared for dental implants. A customized treatment plan will be put together, and we’ll begin walking you through each stage before finally scheduling your procedure.

Dental Implant Surgery

Dr. Rowley and our team are able to perform dental implant placement here in our Melbourne office, meaning you won’t have to worry about traveling to a different provider or coordinating with a separate team. As for the surgery itself, small incisions are made in the gumline to access the jawbone, and from there, one or more implant posts can be placed directly into the bone tissue. It takes about one hour to place a single dental implant, and rest assured, your mouth will be appropriately numbed, and you’ll likely be sedated for this stage of the process.  

Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment

Your dental implant posts will need time to fuse with your jawbone; this process is called osseointegration, and it can take anywhere from three to six months to wrap up. However, this process is what ensures that the biocompatible dental implant posts are able to successfully fuse with your jaw and become true replacements for your tooth roots. Once this has happened, you’ll return to receive your abutments. These are small connector pieces that rest on top of the implants.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s)

After everything has fully healed, you’ll finally be ready to receive your fully-customized permanent restoration. This will come in the form of a dental crown, bridge, or denture, depending on the extent of your tooth loss. It attaches to the abutments and immediately begins receiving support from the underlying dental implant posts. It will also look exactly like your natural teeth! We’ll check to make sure everything feels and functions as it should, and from there, you’ll be ready to enjoy your new smile for life.  

Benefits of Dental Implants

Dental implants offer a range of benefits that distinguish them from other traditional restorative dentistry treatments. That’s why they are considered the gold standard! During your consultation, we can help you decide if they are ideal for you. However, if you want to learn more about the advantages that come with this tooth-replacement solution in the meantime, you can read on!

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Day-to-Day Benefits

Let’s start with the benefits of dental implants in Melbourne that you’ll notice shortly after you’ve healed:

• They Look Natural – Whether we top your dental implant with a crown or a denture, you’ll notice that yours look and feel extremely natural. That’s because we custom-make each one with the patient’s face shape, dental needs, and smile goals in mind.
• They Restore Your Bite Strength – Following tooth loss, patients often have to resort to eating cottage cheese, plain yogurt, and other extremely soft foods on repeat. If this is currently your reality, then you’ll be happy to hear that dental implants can restore 80% of your bite strength.
• They Reestablish Your Normal Speaking Patterns – Considerable gaps in your smile can negatively impact your self-esteem, your ability to eat certain foods, and your speaking patterns. Fortunately, dental implants can replace any number of missing teeth, helping you to enunciate clearly again.

Health Benefits

Dental implants are also unique because they can have a positive impact on your oral and overall health. Here are a few examples:

• They Keep Your Jawbone Strong – Dental implants are unique because they don’t rest against your gums or the surrounding teeth. Instead, they are inserted into the jawbone, which helps prevent bone loss as well as provide unmatched stability.
• They Are Easy to Maintain – Other tooth-replacement options, like dentures, require special cleaning products. That’s not the case with dental implants! You can maintain a healthy smile with the same best practices you use to care for your natural teeth, like brushing twice a day.
• They Prevent Dental Drift – With single dental implants and implant bridges, we can fill the gaps in your mouth, preventing dental drift in the process. This is important because even relatively minor changes to your bite can lead to chronic jaw pain and other serious issues.

Long-Term Benefits

Finally, dental implants continue to be a sought-after solution because they:

• Can Preserve Your Face Shape – We mentioned above that dental implants are secured to the jawbone. As a result, it gets stimulated each time you chew. This helps prevent bone loss and maintain your youthful face shape.
• Are Cost-Effective – Like many other patients, you might initially assume that dental implants are not a great option for your wallet. However, they have a long lifespan, they prevent bone loss, and they are often partially covered by dental insurance providers. As a result, the opposite is often true!
• Can Last for 30+ Years – Speaking of a long lifespan, dental implants can last for over 30 years with proper care (i.e., brushing twice a day, wearing a mouthguard during sports, scheduling a dental cleaning every six months).

Who Dental Implants Can Help

Some patients who are looking into getting dental implants may not be ready to go into surgery right away and could require preparatory treatment first. This is to ensure the implants fuse with the jawbone, which is crucial to the success of the entire process. During your initial consultation, our team will walk you through your treatment plan and let you know how we plan to restore your smile so you know what to expect.

Missing Single Tooth

If you’re missing a single tooth, we’ll place one dental implant below the gumline and allow it time to fuse with the jawbone. Once it has, we’ll attach a dental crown to the abutment to fill the gap in your arch.

Missing Multiple Teeth

Instead of needing to alter the structure of your natural teeth by securing a traditional bridge to them, we can place two dental implants below the gumline an either side of the gap in your smile. This will provide your restoration with a sturdy and unwavering foundation to be attached to.

Missing All of Your Teeth

To restore an entire arch of missing teeth, we can place anywhere from four to six implant posts along the row. Once fused with the jawbone, we can attach a complete denture to the implants. This will eliminate any slipping or shifting that you might experience with a traditional denture.

Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants

By design, your dental implant treatment at Rowley Family Dentistry is as unique as your smile, and because of that, impossible for us to charge a ‘one-size-fits-all’ price for it. That’s because there are many important factors that must be considered when restoring your smile, each of which can affect the total. To that end, we pledge to always be upfront with your pricing and will do our best to help make your treatment as affordable as we can by maximizing your dental insurance benefits, offering financing options, and even providing opportunities for discounts through our in-house membership plan. To learn more about your estimated cost of dental implants in Melbourne, contact us today to schedule a consultation. In the meantime, feel free to read more about how we’ll calculate your total once your cosmetic dentist in Melbourne has a chance to examine your smile!

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Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery

The cost for dental implant treatment involves more than just the restorations themselves.  In fact, in addition to your procedure, you may also need preliminary care such as tooth extractions, bone grafting, or even gum disease therapy, each of which could be necessary to ensure the success of your gorgeous grin. The good news is that some of them may be partially covered by dental insurance.

Please note that your dental implant surgery will incur a separate cost and can be affected by its own unique factors such as where in the jaw your implants must be placed, the material of your dental implant posts, and of course how many implants you’ll be getting.

Since your cosmetic dentist in Melbourne is pleased to offer the entire start-to-finish dental implant treatment right here in our office, you’ll save even more time and money not having to pay two separate dentists or visit two separate offices to complete your treatment.

The Parts of Your Dental Implant

Another important factor that will affect the cost of your dental implant treatment is the parts of the dental implant itself. These can range dramatically depending on the following:

• How many dental implants you need: Getting a single dental implant to replace one tooth will be much more economical than getting four to six for an implant denture; however, restoring an entire arch with one implant denture will be much more affordable than replacing each tooth individually.

• The type of dental restoration that will sit on top of your dental implant: Whether you’ve chosen a crown, bridge, or denture, each part is priced differently, but a general rule of thumb is the smaller the restoration, the lower the price.
• The material and size: The size and material of your dental implant depend on where it will be placed in your arch. Some posts are made at different lengths and from different materials to suit patients’ specific needs.
• The brand of your dental implant: Different manufacturers make unique styles of dental implants to accommodate the desires and oral health needs of a wide range of patients.

How Dental Implants Can Save You Money

For many patients, cost is unfortunately a factor when choosing tooth restoration. As a result, many will skip dental implants and stick with temporary options like dental bridges or dentures because they have a lower up-front cost. However, what they often don’t realize is that because they’re permanent, dental implants could actually be more economical than those removable restorations. In fact, not only will they not need to be replaced every five to 10 years like dentures or bridges, but they also don’t require any extra maintenance, and because they provide important jawbone stimulation, they can even help preserve your oral health and prevent future tooth loss from occurring down the road!

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

In most cases, dental insurance doesn’t cover the cost of dental implants, but there are sometimes exceptions. Your cosmetic dentist in Melbourne will carefully explore the details of your individual dental insurance policy and our team will do their best to maximize your benefits. In some cases, your provider may cover a percentage of the final restoration of any preliminary treatments you may require to ensure your treatment is a success.

Making Dental Implants Affordable

At Rowley Family Dentistry, your implant dentist in Melbourne is pleased to offer the following options for making your dental implant treatment more affordable:

• We are pleased to welcome many popular dental insurance To learn more about the claims process and to see which plans are accepted, contact our office today.
• For patients who don’t have their own private dental insurance, we are pleased to offer our very own, in-house dental membership plan that provides valuable discounts on a variety of oral health treatments.
• We are happy to accept payment plans through our preferred third-party financing providers, CareCredit. This program allows you to split up the cost of your dental implant treatment into multiple, low or no interest monthly payments that may be more ideal for your financial situation.

At Rowley Family Dentistry, we can’t wait to help restore your stunning smile with durable, lifelike dental implants! To learn more about the cost of dental implants in Melbourne, contact us today to schedule a consultation!

Dental Implant FAQs

Perhaps you’re now seriously considering dental implants. If so, that’s great news – you can count on these prosthetics to fully restore your grin! Still, you ought to learn more about them before committing. Doing so ensures you know what to expect from treatment. As it happens, though, we at Rowley Family Dentistry can help: listed below are the answers to some oft-asked implant questions. Please give them a read to see how our restorations work. As for other details you need, feel free to book a consultation book a consultation with us to learn more.