Dental Implants

Dental implants are another option for replacing a missing tooth or teeth. An implant serves as an artificial root, anchoring the replacement tooth in place. This also helps protect and preserve the area from tissue loss and recession.

A considerable time span is needed to complete the entire implant placement and restoration procedure. In such cases your doctor can place a temporary tooth in the empty space while you heal. Once the implant is restored, is it a stand-alone unit and it does not involve treating the teeth next to it.
There are several steps to placing and restoring an implant. First, the implant (or screw that is placed in the bone) is placed using radio-graphs and a surgical procedure. Next, the implant must heal and integrate into the bone. This part of the process takes time and patients may need to wait several months until the implant is completely healed and replacement teeth can be attached to the implant. The final part of the procedure involves attaching a dental crown to the implant that will look just like the adjacent teeth. Replacement teeth take some time to fabricate. In the meantime, your dentist may give a temporary tooth to fill the space.

When it is time to place the dental crown on the implant, an abutment is used to support the crown and provide connection to the implant. An impression or intraoral scan is needed of the implant and the tissue for the lab to make the abutment and crown. Once the impression or scan is completed, the lab will fabricate the abutment and crown.

The final appointment involves placing the crown and abutment on the implant. Some crown and abutments are both screwed into the implant, and some abutments are screwed to the implant and then the crown is cemented onto the abutment. Dr. Blomquist will determine which abutment-crown interface is appropriate for your implant restoration. The healing cap is removed, the abutment and crown are placed onto the implant, any necessary adjustments are made, and the restoration is secured into place. 

With your implant placement complete, your teeth are restored to optimal shape and function in a way that continues to stabilize, protect, and preserve the surrounding teeth and tissue.

Implant Bridges

An implant supported bridge can be used to replace multiple missing teeth and restore the esthetics and function of your mouth. It is a single restoration that uses dental implants neighboring the space for support. It typically requires multiple appointments to complete this process. Using dental implants to support your bridge provides a stable permanent solution to replace the missing teeth by mimicking their root structure. It also allows you to replace multiple missing teeth when it may not be feasible to place multiple implants that would allow for individual restorations.

The surgical and restoration process are the same as with a single implant. The permanent bridge can take some time to fabricate. In the meantime, your dentist may give a temporary option to replace the missing teeth and fill the space until the permanent bridge is ready.