Procedures to Prepare for Dental Implants
The health of your entire mouth determines the success of your dental implants. Certain conditions such as gum disease and bone loss can make dental implant placement impossible or lead to post-surgery complications that can jeopardize the short and long-term success of your implants. That’s why it’s vitally important to clear up any of these issues before your dental implant procedure.
Luckily, Dr. Silvoy offers a full range of supplemental procedures to prepare the teeth, gums, and jawbone for implant placement. Not only do these treatments increase your chances of becoming a good candidate for dental implants, they increase the likelihood of long-term treatment success.
Bone Grafting
Bone loss is a common for patients with missing teeth. When the tooth roots are no longer providing stimulation to the jawbone, it begins to deteriorate. This results in a jawbone that cannot support dental implants.
Bone grafting can help reverse the bone loss that occurs where a tooth is missing by adding donated tissue in the area. During the healing process, the existing bone grows around the grafted tissue, strengthening the entire jawbone in the process. Once healing is complete, patients are often able to support dental implants.
Ridge Modification
In the area where a tooth is missing, the bone and gum tissues may lose their natural shape, especially if a tooth has been gone for a while. To prepare such an area for a dental implant, Dr. Silvoy can perform a procedure called ridge augmentation.
During this treatment gum and bone tissue is used to restore the deficient areas and create a more natural appearance. Ridge modification can be performed right after tooth extraction if significant bone loss or gum recession has occurred, or after a tooth has been missing for a while. It’s also helpful for patients who have experienced trauma to the jaw or those who have bone defects.
Sinus Augmentation
Sinus augmentation is a form of bone grafting that is sometimes necessary for patients needing implants in the upper jawbone. When bone loss occurs in the upper arch, the sinus cavity becomes larger, diminishing the bone available for implant placement. Sinus augmentation adds to, or “augments” the existing tissue and prepares the jaw for upper arch dental implants.
Socket Preservation
Bone loss starts to occur shortly after a tooth has been extracted. To preserve bone density and minimize bone loss, Dr. Silvoy can perform a socket preservation procedure. He can choose from several techniques to preserve bone, depending on the particular situation.
The most common socket preservation method involves placing bone or bone substitute into the socket left by the extracted tooth. This encourages your body to heal this area of the jawbone. The goal of this procedure is to maintain bone density, eliminate shrinkage and collapse of the surrounding gum and facial tissues, and create a strong foundation for implant placement.
Gum Disease Treatment
To ensure that your dental implants have the best chance of success, it’s important to treat any symptoms of gum disease before your implant procedure. Seeing bleeding while brushing, having gums that are swollen and red, or noticing that your teeth that have shifted are all signs that may mean you have gum disease.
Dr. Silvoy uses state-of-the-art lasers to treat gum disease and eliminate the infection that can cause problems with your dental implants. In addition to professional gum disease treatment, at-home oral care–including proper brushing and daily flossing–is extremely important to keep your dental implants healthy and secure for a lifetime.