The Maryland Center offers dental implants as a long-term and effective option for replacing missing teeth. Our practice—one of the largest in the Mid-Atlantic region—provides a comfortable, modern environment for receiving the care that patients need.
Dental implants are a multi-staged process. They include:
- Patient evaluation.
- Implant placement.
- Abutment placement.
- Attaching replacement teeth.
Your experience with these stages of treatment may differ from another patient’s, as some procedures can be combined depending on the situation. Learn more about what to expect.
Evaluation and Placement of Dental Implants
Your Maryland Center oral surgeon will examine your teeth and jaw to determine whether you are a good candidate for surgery and to decide how many implants you may require. He will also discuss the procedure with you and answer any questions you may have. After this meeting, our practice will schedule the implant placement surgery.
Some patients require additional procedures before the implants are placed:
- Dental implants serve as replacement tooth roots, promoting bone growth and preventing resorption. Patients that have already lost significant bone mass may require a bone graft.
- Patients may need to have a damaged tooth removed prior to placing the dental implant.
Either of these procedures can mean waiting several weeks before placing implants. The placement procedure itself may take as little as 45 minutes depending on the number of the dental implants you require.
Abutments and Permanent Replacement Teeth
Usually for patients in Hunt Valley, dental implants require two months of healing once they are placed. This gives them time to bond with the jaw and to create a strong foundation for replacement teeth.
In a follow-up visit abutments will be attached to your dental implants. These posts provide a way for connecting the permanent replacement teeth to the implants.
Your general dentist will take an impression of your mouth to begin the process of fabricating these new teeth. Once they are ready, he or she will attach them to the abutments.
In total, the entire process from your first visit to your new smile can take anywhere from three to six months. The variability depends on your personal health needs, how quickly you heal, the scheduling of procedures, and the completion of your permanent replacement teeth.
If you have missing or damaged teeth, we encourage you to visit our practice in Owings Mills, Hunt Valley, or Bel Air, MD. Dental implants can offer you the long-term, natural-looking solution you need.