Dental Implants Specialist

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are titanium posts that provide a foundation for restorations like crowns, a fixed bridge, or implant-retained overdentures. They’re placed beneath your gums during an outpatient procedure and integrate with your jaw in the weeks that follow. If you practice good oral hygiene and participate in preventive dentistry, they often last a lifetime.

What are the advantages of dental implants?

Dental implants offer many advantages, including:

• Convenience 
• Durability
• Easier biting and chewing
• Improved confidence
• Increased comfort

Dental implants also improve your oral health. By replacing missing teeth, you can lower the risk of certain oral health problems, including gum recession and bone loss.

Can anyone get dental implants?

To get dental implants, you need healthy gums and enough jaw bone volume to support them. If you have gingivitis or a weak jaw, Dr. Pasnikowska might recommend scaling and root planing or a bone graft before continuing with treatment.

During your first meeting, let her know if you have any underlying health problems like diabetes or kidney disease. These conditions won’t stop you from getting implants, but it’s important they’re stable to minimize the risk of potential complications like implant failure.

What does getting dental implants involve?

Getting dental implants involves at least three separate appointments over the course of several months.

First appointment

If Dr. Pasnikowska determines you’re a good candidate for dental implants, she administers a local anesthetic and places a series of titanium posts beneath your gums. Following implant placement, she provides care instructions. 

Over the course of three to four months, your mouth heals and the implants integrate with your jaw. Following the integration process, you return to HP Dentistry PC.

Second appointment

At your second appointment, Dr. Pasnikowska uses an intraoral scanner to take digital impressions of your mouth. She sends your scans to a dental laboratory that uses them to design and manufacture a custom restoration.  

The type of restoration you get depends on the number of teeth missing, your budget, and your individual goals. When the laboratory completes your custom restorations, they ship them to HP Dentistry PC.

Third appointment

At your third and final appointment, Dr. Pasnikowska administers a local anesthetic. Then, she lines up your dental restorations with the implants and bonds them in place. Afterward, Dr. Pasnikowska polishes your implants and explains how to take care of them.

To see if you can benefit from dental implants, make an appointment at HP Dentistry PC, by calling the office, or clicking the online booking tool today.