What to Expect with a Dental Implant
If you want to get a dental implant to replace a tooth that you are missing, it is important that you know what to expect. Many people make the mistake of thinking that having a dental implant put into their mouth will occur over the course of one appointment, but that is not the case at all. Use the guide below to learn what to really expect when you go to a dentist to have a dental implant installed in your mouth.
Initial Consultation
The first thing that will happen is that you will have to go for an initial consultation with the dentist. The dentist will have to let you know if you are a good candidate for the implant or if you need to have other dental work done before the implant can be put into place. If you have other dental issues, they need to be addressed before the implant can be installed to ensure that your mouth is as strong and healthy as it can be before anything new is done.
Install the Screw
A dental implant is held in place with a screw. The screw must be drilled into your jawbone and then left to heal for a certain period of time to make sure that your body accepts it. There are times when someone's body can reject the screw, which means that the implant cannot be put into place. You will come back to the dentist after having the screw put into place to make sure that your gums are healing around it nicely. The gumline and your jawbone will be tender and sore directly after the surgery, so plan to eat mushy foods so that you do not actually have to chew for the first few days when the areas are the most tender.
Have the Implant Installed
Once your gums have had time to heal around the screw, the dentist can install the implant that he or she had made for you. It will be the exact size of the tooth that you are missing because he will have taken a mold of your mouth before the screw was installed to send to a lab to have the replacement tooth created. The tooth simply screws into place and should stay put forever.
A dental implant allows you to live your life the way you would if you had never lost your tooth to begin with. The implant does not come out of your mouth or move around when you talk or eat, so you can live as fulfilling of a life as possible without worrying about your tooth anymore.
Talk to a cosmetic dentistry near you if you want to know more about dental implants.
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