When It Comes To Dental Implants

The success rate of dental implants in general is about 95%. Failure of the full arch dental implants at Golden Oak Sedation is extremely rare.

When you trust the experts at Golden Oak Sedation to replace your failing teeth with full mouth dental implants, you can rest assured that your new teeth will not only look like healthy natural teeth, but they’ll also be customized for you in terms of size and color.

You’ll receive an initial set of temporary acrylic teeth on the same day as you get your dental implants. At Golden Oak Sedation, we’re committed to satisfying our patients by providing the look and feel of beautiful natural teeth.

If your dentist has told you that your jawbone doesn’t have enough density to support dental implants, it’s important to understand exactly what the problem is and what your options are. Here’s a brief explanation:

When severe gum disease or missing teeth have gone unaddressed too long, there’s a high risk of shrinkage in the underlying bone that supports your teeth. In the case of gum disease, also known as periodontitis, bone loss can result from deep infections caused by bacteria finding a pathway to the bone through the deteriorating gums.

Another reason for bone loss is failure to replace missing teeth. This happens because the ongoing biting and chewing functions of natural teeth stimulate healthy bone growth in your mouth. When there are places where rooted teeth no longer stimulate the jawbone, your body will, over time, stop growing bone cells in that area, causing the bone to weaken and disintegrate.

For many years, patients with extensive bone loss had to forgo getting dental implants or undergo a series of bone grafts to build up their jawbone structure to support implants. Bone grafting is a daunting solution for many patients because it requires one or more surgeries to remove bone cells from one part of the body – often the hip bone – and place them in the jawbone. Each of these procedures will require weeks or months of recovery time, which means it’s not uncommon for bone-graft patients to wait several months to a year before they can get dental implants.

Fortunately, Golden Oak Sedation has a better solution: zygomatic implants. These dental implants are appropriate for patients who need teeth replacement in the upper arch. The sturdy implants are extra long and specially designed for placement in the cheekbone (or zygoma), which provides a dense, strong alternative to a weakened jawbone for anchoring implants.

If you’re considering zygomatic dental implants, it’s important to recognize that this option requires a customized approach for each patient and a high level of specialized skill on the part of your provider to design and complete the implantation procedure. The oral and maxillofacial surgeons at Golden Oak Sedation have many years of experience in delivering optimal results for patients who need zygomatic implants.

For patients with severe or extensive periodontal (gum) disease, replacing their failing teeth with implant-supported artificial teeth is the gold standard in treatment because there is no other cure for this condition. At Golden Oak Sedation, we remove the bacterial infection that causes gum disease as part of the implantation process, which means you can start life fresh with your new teeth.

However, it will be critical to adhere to the immediate post-implantation care and hygiene instructions as well as the long-term implant maintenance plan you receive from our team to minimize the risk of infection after your dental implants are in place. Your long-term plan will include regular visits to a dentist who’s trained to recognize the signs of infection and inflammation around dental implants.

Additionally, it has been documented that smoking increases the risk of periodontitis around dental implants. It’s important that patients who smoke give up this habit before getting dental implants and during the healing process. For ideal long-term results, patients should abstain from smoking and vaping after getting implants.

Smoking typically takes a heavy toll on oral health, and any smokers who are thinking about getting dental implants are strongly encouraged to give up the habit for good. After all, studies have shown that smokers face a much higher risk of implant failure than nonsmokers and former smokers.

Why? Smoking interferes with blood flow to the gums and jawbone, which can delay the post-implantation healing process and hinder the integration of implants into the jawbone. Smoking also increases patients’ risk of peri-implantitis, which is inflammation of gum and/or bone tissue caused by a bacterial infection around the base of a dental implant.

With that said, smoking does not automatically make a patient ineligible for dental implants at Golden Oak Sedation. If you smoke, you should discuss your habit, including how many cigarettes or e-cigarettes you smoke, with one of our consultants who will evaluate your health, medications and other factors to determine your eligibility for the dental implantation procedure. If you can’t give up smoking altogether, you will be asked to commit to no smoking for at least two weeks before your dental implantation procedure and for six months afterward to promote successful healing.

Patients at Golden Oak Sedation leave our clinic with a full set of artificial teeth on the same day as they get their implants. These teeth are attractive and customized to fit. But the first set of teeth you get at Golden Oak Sedation will not be the final set of teeth you’ll receive.

The first set of teeth we place on your dental implants will be acrylic and designed for temporary use.

After your dental implants have integrated with your jawbone and your gums have fully healed, we’ll take impressions again and customize a second set of zirconia teeth just for you. This process ensures a better patient experience and also gives you a second opportunity to work with our team to customize your new teeth according to your aesthetic preferences.

Our dedication to ensuring patient satisfaction by providing two sets of “final” zirconia teeth is one of the ways our clinic stands out from others providing dental implants.

If you’re asking this question, it’s likely that you are a candidate for Golden Oak Sedation. Many of the best candidates for full arch or full mouth dental implants at Golden Oak Sedation have either lost most of their teeth or most of their teeth are failing. They may have been told by their dentist that their advanced gum disease or tooth decay will eventually lead to tooth loss. During your consultation or during a brief phone call, we may find that single dental implants would better suit your needs.

Some people recover enough to go about their routine activities the day after their procedure, but most take three to five days to feel ready to resume their active lifestyle.

For optimal recovery results, it’s important to follow the guidelines for diet and care provided by your Golden Oak Sedation team. For example, use ice for any facial swelling the first two days and allow stitches to dissolve on their own, which usually occurs in seven to 10 days.

You’ll need to stick to a soft diet for the first few days after you get dental implants and continue to avoid tough, chewy foods for up to six months while your implants fully integrate with your jawbone.

Additionally, although your long-term oral hygiene routine will be similar to the guidelines for natural tooth maintenance, you’ll receive instructions for special cleaning techniques for the weeks immediately following your dental implantation.

In some cases, patients may be able to get a complete row of dental implants for the upper or lower arch while planning to get implants for the second full arch later. When you schedule a consultation at Golden Oak Sedation, our experts can help you determine whether this is a good option for you.

Most health and dental insurance plans don’t cover the cost of dental implants. Golden Oak Sedation has agreements with partners who offer financing options to our patients who qualify. Another way that some of our patients pay for the dental implants they need is to borrow from their 401(k) retirement plans or take out a home equity line of credit.

Every patient is unique, and all of our full mouth dental implant plans are tailored to meet our patients’ individual needs. Contact Golden Oak Sedation today for information about the cost of dental implants and to schedule a consultation, during which we can provide you with an accurate estimate that covers all of our services, including X-rays, doctor visits, implantation, tooth fabrication and more.