Permanent Smile Restoration
Dental Implants in Del Mar
Whether you are missing one or multiple teeth, Del Mar Dental Studio offers high quality, natural-looking dental implants that will last. We take pride in restoring our patients’ smiles, and Dr. Pizzi focuses on both function and aesthetics to ensure that you are happy with your results. If you are missing teeth in Del Mar, call us today to schedule a consultation and learn more!
Unique Advantages
Benefits of Dental Implants
- Dental implants are durable and have a longer lifespan than any other treatment for tooth replacement.
- Since implants are bonded to your natural jaw, they offer security and stability.
- With our high quality materials, your implants will look and feel completely natural.
- Implants support and strengthen your jaw, and help prevent bone resorption after tooth loss.
Missing One Tooth?
Single-Tooth Dental Implants
Single-tooth implants consist of two parts: the implant itself, which is a small screw-shaped piece of titanium, and a dental crown. The implant is placed into your gum and jaw bone permanently, and heals to create an artificial tooth root. Then, a custom crown is designed to look and feel just like a natural tooth. Once the crown fits and looks natural, it is permanently bonded to the implant to restore your missing tooth.
Missing Most of Your Teeth?
Full-Arch Dental Implants
Full-arch dental implants can replace an entire arch of missing teeth to give you your smile back. Using a series of 4-6 dental implants placed in the upper, lower, or both arches of your teeth, full-arch implants support a removable denture or a permanent, fixed dental bridge. This is a good alternative to traditional dentures, as full-arch implants provide superior stability.
What to Expect
The Implant Process
After you’re approved for treatment, Dr. Pizzi will take images and x-rays of your jaw and face, and begin planning your personalized implant treatment. At your first appointment, your mouth will be numbed and cleaned, and Dr. Pizzi will surgically place your implant. Then, the area will be cleaned and sutured shut.
Initial recovery takes only about a week, but your implant needs about 3-6 months to bond permanently with your surrounding jaw bone and gum tissue. During this time, you will come to Del Mar Dental Studio for a few follow-up appointments. Dr. Pizzi will check on your healing progress and take impressions of your mouth to begin building your implant-supported restoration.
Once your mouth is completely healed and your implant-supported restoration has been created, you’ll come back to our office to have it permanently attached. During your final appointment, Dr. Pizzi will check your custom restoration to ensure a perfect fit, then he will attach it with dental cement to complete your procedure. You’ll leave our office with a beautiful, recovered smile!
Implant Treatment Under One Roof
Placements & Restorations
We use modern, digital imaging equipment and the latest implant planning techniques to place your implants. This ensures that your smile is restored without any side effects or complications.
The restoration refers to the dental prosthesis that is attached to your implant. At our Del Mar office, we work with the best dental labs and use advanced imaging technology to create precise models of your mouth. We create high-quality implant restorations including crowns, bridges & implant-supported dentures.
Does It Hurt
To Get A Dental Implant?
Your implant placement surgery will not hurt at all. The process does involve cutting into the gums and your jaw bone, but at your Del Mar dentist, Dr. Pizzi uses the latest tools and techniques to minimize invasiveness and ensure you can heal and recover quickly.
In addition, your mouth will be completely numb during your surgery, so you won’t feel any kind of discomfort. We will do our best to make sure you feel safe and comfortable throughout the entire surgical procedure.
However, your implant may cause you some pain and discomfort once your numbing wears off. This will usually peak within a day or two, and then start to fade. Your pain may also be accompanied by swelling, bleeding, and bruising near your implant site.
As long as you follow the recovery instructions provided by Dr. Pizzi, though, you can manage and deal with this discomfort easily, and you’ll ensure that your mouth heals and recovers as quickly as possible.
How Long Does It Take To Recover
After Getting An Implant?
The initial healing and recovery period usually takes 1-2 weeks, and pain will usually fade after just 2-3 days at most. Some people choose to go back to work the next day after their surgery, but we recommend taking at least 1 day off, if possible.
In addition, you should avoid heavy exertion and exercise for a few days to avoid irritating your implant site and causing discomfort. You will also need to eat a diet of mostly soft foods for a least a week, and you should avoid chewing near the implant, if possible.
After a week or so, the implant site should feel a lot better, and after two weeks, you will barely even notice that your implant is there. However, this doesn’t mean you can get your new tooth right away.
Once your mouth heals, your titanium dental implant still has to bond with the bone in your jaw. This process is called “osseointegration” and usually takes between 3-6 months. Until this process takes place, your implant will not be stable enough to support a false tooth.
So be patient, and make sure to come into Del Mar Dental Studio whenever you’re scheduled for a checkup so that Dr. Todd Pizzi can check on your healing and recovery progress.
What Happens If I Don’t
Replace My Missing Tooth?
Obviously, your appearance and speech will be affected, especially if you’ve lost a front tooth. This may make you feel less confident about how you look and sound. Losing one or more teeth also may interfere with your ability to chew and eat certain foods.
In addition, losing a tooth usually causes the surrounding teeth to shift toward the now-empty socket. Unless you replace your missing tooth soon after losing it, your bite alignment and the position of your other teeth may change, which is not a good thing.
You also will begin losing bone mass underneath the missing tooth, because the jaw bone is no longer being stimulated by the pressure of chewing. Note that this will happen even if you get a set of partial dentures or a dental bridge. Only a dental implant will stimulate the bone and prevent bone loss.
For these reasons, it’s a good idea to replace your missing tooth as soon as possible. And, if you’re a good candidate, a dental implant is almost always the best way to permanently restore your tooth. To learn more and see if you qualify for implants, contact Del Mar Dental Studio for an appointment with Dr. Todd Pizzi.
Durability & Cost
How Long Do Implants Last?
With proper care, dental implants typically last at least 30 years. In fact, most people will keep their implants for the rest of their lives. Though implants are costly up front, their durability makes them the best long-term option for replacing missing teeth. In contrast, dentures and bridges will typically need to be replaced every 10-15 years. These alternatives will end up costing you more in the long run.
The cost of implants varies for each patient based on many factors, including overall health, how many teeth you are missing, and whether you will need preparatory treatment. For an accurate cost estimate and to discuss your implant options, call Del Mar Dental Studio and schedule a consultation today!
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