Implants Q&A

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are replacement tooth roots that the Bay Dental team surgically places into your jawbone. These small titanium posts replace your roots if you have missing teeth. The roots of your teeth sit beneath your gumline. Their primary job is to stabilize and support your teeth. When you lose a permanent tooth, the root eventually dissolves.

Replacing the root with a dental implant provides a stable foundation for your replacement teeth, whether you choose a single dental crown or full dentures. Implants connect to your teeth, so you can chew and speak without discomfort or embarrassment.

What are the benefits of dental implants?

Dental implants offer many advantages over less permanent alternatives. The Bay Dental team often recommends dental implants to permanently replace missing teeth. Dental implants can:

• Enhance your appearance
• Feel more comfortable than dentures
• Last for 25 years or more
• Function just like natural teeth
• Promote healthy oral hygiene habits
• Prevent bone resorption

The bone in your jaw needs constant stimulation to continue replacing old bone with new tissue. The bone breaks down when you no longer have a tooth root to stimulate new tissue growth. This process, also called bone resorption, increases your risk of shifting teeth, malocclusions (bad bites), and tooth loss. Bone resorption can even lead to facial sagging.

What can I expect from dental implants?

At Bay Dental, the team uses digital X-rays and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to determine whether you have enough bone in your jaw to support dental implants. Healthy bone is essential to hold your implants and replacement teeth in place. The team may recommend a dental bone graft if you don’t have enough tooth-supporting bone.

The team performs dental implant surgery with anesthesia, so you won’t feel any pain or discomfort during your procedure. They make a small incision in your gums to surgically place the implants. After suturing the incision, the team closes the incision while the osseointegration process begins.

The implants bond to your jawbone during osseointegration, just like your natural tooth roots. The entire healing process takes about six to 12 weeks. Once your mouth fully heals, the team takes digital impressions to create your replacement teeth. They connect your teeth to the implants at your final appointment to restore your tooth function.

How do All-on-X implants work?

All-on-X implants refer to All-on-4® and All-on-6® implants, which replace all the teeth in your mouth. Both treatments involve placing four or six implants in your upper or lower arches to replace your teeth without single implants. All-on-X implants attach to custom-made dentures to fully restore your smile.

Call Bay Dental today or schedule an appointment online to learn more about dental implants.