Dental Implants - La Cañada Flintridge, CA
Strong, Long-Lasting Replacement Teeth
A traditional dental bridge can fill in a gap in your smile, but you’ll lose small amounts of tooth enamel to make room for it. Traditional dentures allow you to eat and speak normally, but they might end up slipping at an inopportune moment. If you’re looking for a form of tooth replacement that avoids these disadvantages, call us to schedule a consultation with Dr. Albert and learn more about sturdy, long-lasting dental implants.
Why Choose Harry T. Albert, DDS for Dental Implants?
- Expertly Designed, Custom Restorations
- Dentist Who Works Closely with Local Specialists
- Small Practice That Focuses on Your Unique Needs
What is a Dental Implant?
If you saw someone who had a dental implant, you most likely wouldn’t notice anything unusual about their teeth. That’s because the implant itself – a small titanium post – is completely hidden under a custom-made ceramic crown that has been designed to match the rest of the smile. Implants are unique in that they directly bond with the jawbone, allowing them to act as the “roots” for any number of prosthetic teeth.
Benefits of Dental Implants
- Well-placed implants and carefully designed restorations will look and feel much like your real teeth, more so than a removable bridge or denture.
- You can speak much more clearly with implant-retained teeth that won’t slip in your mouth.
- The strength of the implant posts allows you to safely bite and chew all kinds of foods.
- The posts are made out of titanium, which can last for decades. Many patients are able to keep their implants for the rest of their lives.
- Your jaw will not start to break down if it receives stimulation from a dental implant.
Are Dental Implants Right for You?
You should consider getting dental implants if you’ve lost any number of teeth but are otherwise in good oral health. Gum disease and bone loss can both complicate the implant process, but they can also be treated with periodontal therapy and bone grafts. Before we can confirm that you’re a good candidate for the procedure, we’ll need to carefully examine your mouth and consider all of the different variables – starting with the number of teeth that need to be replaced.
Missing One Tooth
A dental implant can be placed anywhere in the mouth where a single tooth has been lost. A dental crown will be attached to the post via an abutment once the surrounding bone has had a chance to permanently fuse with the titanium. (This process, called osseointegration, usually takes months to complete.)
Missing Several Teeth
Instead of resting on nearby teeth, dental bridges can be supported by implant posts. This way, a small number of implants can be used to fill a large gap in the smile. An implant-retained bridge can take the place of three or more missing teeth in a row.
Missing All Teeth
Even an entire row of teeth can be held in place with dental implants. Most implant-retained dentures rest on four to eight posts and are permanently fixed in place, allowing you to brush and floss them as if they were real teeth. Since your jaw won’t lose its density, you won’t have to worry about your dentures becoming unstable after a while.
Partnered with La Cañada Flintridge’s Best Specialists
The surgery to place your implants in your mouth will be performed at a separate practice by a local specialist. This is done because the odds of a successful procedure free of complications are much higher if it is performed by someone with extensive training and experience in this specific treatment. Dr. Albert will help you find a reliable practice and will handle the design and placement of a crown, bridge, or denture afterward.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
We’ll go over the different factors that will affect the price of your implants at your initial consultation. Will you need multiple posts or only one? What should you expect to pay at each individual stage of the process? Are additional treatments going to be required? The price will vary for each individual, but we’ll do everything we can to help you make sure that the process is affordable under your budget (such as helping you file claims with your insurance company and setting up financing).