Dental Implants

Implants are a wonderful new solution to a variety of problems. They can be used to replace that one tooth you’ve been missing for a long time, or they can help stabilize a denture you really like that just doesn’t stay still anymore.

A dental implant is basically a screw that is surgically placed in the bone to act as a new root or anchor. Once it’s been placed, it can be used in a variety of ways.

Implants as Tooth Replacement

If a patient has most of their natural teeth and only needs to replace one area, an implant can be placed and afterward, a connector (called an “abutment”) and a crown will be placed on top. What’s great about an implant crown is that it doesn’t need to come in and out of your mouth. Once it’s in, it stays in. You can chew on it and clean it like any other tooth.

If you have more than one tooth in an area that needs to be replaced, you can also place two implants and put multiple crowns between the two implants – this is called an implant bridge. Once an implant crown is in, it will virtually look, feel, and behave like a natural tooth!

Implants to Stabilize a Denture

In this case, a patient either needs or has a removable denture that’s not stable. Perhaps the denture rocks when chewing or falls out too easily. If some implants are placed, we can add connectors into the bottom of the denture that can “clip” onto the implants. This way, the dentures are held in by the implants and they don’t fall off anymore! Long-time denture wearers who get implants for their dentures say it’s the best thing they’ve ever done.

Do You Place Implants?

As with any procedure, if your case is within our limits of expertise, we can do a guided implant placement after taking a 3-D xray and scan. Whether we place the implants or a specialist does, after they've healed, we can then restore them with a crown, full denture, or partial denture.

Aren’t Implants Expensive?

We do suggest that end result of having implants is worth the investment. Consider a tooth replacement that feels seamless and doesn’t have to come in and out, or a denture that doesn’t move or fall out anymore. These are worth the expense if you consider how often we use our teeth and how important they are to our social lives and physical health. Unfortunately, we can’t give you a specific cost here or over the phone as every insurance has different fees and every person's case is unique. However, we can usually give you an estimated treatment plan at the end of a comprehensive examination visit.

How Can I Learn More?

If a dental implant sounds compelling to you, please call our Canon City dental office at 719-285-4784 to make an appointment. As part of our comprehensive examination, we will give you a treatment plan estimate to see if implants are a viable option for you!