Dental Implants – Panama City, FL
Fully Restoring Your
Natural Bite and Smile
Even after your teeth have been replaced with dentures or a bridge, you’ll likely find that your smile still isn’t as comfortable and lifelike as you’d prefer. If you want a tooth replacement that comes as close to the real thing as possible, talk to Dr. Waheed about dental implants in Panama City, FL. These long-lasting titanium posts will make it look and feel like you’ve turned back the clock on your grin – to the point where it’s almost like you didn’t lose a tooth in the first place!
Why Choose Baldwin Family Dental for Dental Implants?
- Complete Implant Service Under One Roof
- High Quality, Long Lasting Restorations
- A Dentist That Cares About Your Comfort
What is a Dental Implant?
A dental implant is a post that is surgically placed in the jawbone. It’s usually made out of titanium, which is a biocompatible metal. As such, it’s able to fuse with the surrounding tissue through osseointegration. Once it does, it can act as an artificial root for a crown or another type of restoration. In other words, dental implants don’t replace the entire tooth; they replace the root structure and support the prosthetic that you’ll use for biting, chewing, speaking, and smiling.
4 Step Dental Implant Process
Unlike traditional dentures or bridges, dental implants require a multi-step process that spans the course of months. However, this unique process is exactly what allows implants to give you a full, strong, and attractive smile. At Baldwin Family Dental, we provide the placement and restoration of implants for start-to-finish convenience. While every patient’s treatment differs, there are four main steps that you can generally expect, including consultation, surgery, osseointegration, and final restoration. Read on to learn more about how dental implants work in Panama City.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
Dr. Waheed or Dr. Panousis will begin by reviewing your medical history, discussing your needs, and carefully examining your mouth. If necessary, we will recommend preliminary treatments like tooth extractions, bone grafting, or gum disease therapy in order to ensure the success of your dental implants. From there, we’ll be able to create a custom treatment plan that includes significant information like timeline and cost estimates.
Dental Implant Surgery
Unlike many other dentists in the area, we proudly offer the entire dental implant process at the same location. This means that you’ll enjoy a consistent, convenient, and efficient treatment. Plus, you’ll have peace of mind knowing familiar faces at Baldwin Family Dental. First, we will numb your mouth so that your surgery is comfortable. We also provide sedation for those seeking a deeper sense of relaxation. Next, we’ll make a small incision on your gums to access your jawbone. Once the implant is placed, we will close up the gums and give you a protective cap to maintain your appearance and prevent potential issues during recovery.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement
Once your dental implants are placed, you’ll begin a healing process called osseointegration. Dental implants are made of biocompatible materials that allow them to fuse to the jawbone, becoming a permanent part of the body. This is exactly what gives implants the ability to provide so many benefits, including strength, durability, and naturality. Osseointegration usually takes between 3 to 6 months. Once your implants are completely healed, you’ll come back into our office for a minor treatment. We will place abutments, which are small connectors that allow for the placement of your custom-made restorations.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
Once your dental implants have fully healed, all that’s left to do is to come into our office for your final restorations. We will create crowns, bridges, and dentures out of incredibly high-quality materials for the most natural and beautiful results. The restoration that you require will directly depend on your specific needs, including the number of teeth that you’re missing. After placing your permanent restorations, we will always check that your new and improved smile feels comfortable and meets all your expectations. Now you can leave our office with a complete, strong, beautiful, and healthy set of teeth!
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants may require more of a commitment than other forms of tooth replacement. However, the end result is something you’ll have to look forward to, whether you’re replacing single teeth or your entire smile. As you’ll find below, you can start enjoying the advantages they offer for decades (and even for life) when you take proper care of them! Such benefits include:
Day-to-Day Benefits
- Stable support for dentures so that they don’t loosen or slip: If you’ve ever used a traditional denture before, then you’re likely aware of how frustrating it can be for it to slip or shift out of place throughout the day. With an implant denture, you never have to worry about a loose denture again!
- Be able to brush and floss normally: When you’re brushing or flossing your teeth, you can expect it to feel natural again. In fact, your routine is largely comparable to what it was before your tooth loss. Just make sure the gum tissue around your implant is getting the attention it needs to stay clean!
- Boost confidence in your appearance: Having a smile you hate to show off can really dampen your self-esteem and confidence. With a new tooth (or set of teeth) held in place with reliable dental implants, you can express yourself to the fullest extent. Because of how they are surgically placed, they even work to prevent facial sagging and hollowing of the cheeks!
Health Benefits
- Break down food without worry: Chewing food when you have missing teeth can be difficult, exhausting, and downright infeasible depending on what you eat. Dental implants are incredibly strong thanks to their integration with the jawbone, which allows you to eat hard and crunchy foods without any concern.
- A diet full of healthy options for better nutrition: Eating a balanced diet can be largely hindered by the number of teeth you have. Not only can you expand your diet to include fruits and vegetables conducive to oral and overall health, but you don’t have to spend time preparing them in ways to accommodate missing teeth.
- Stop changes in your tooth position: Teeth will naturally shift out of place once neighboring teeth are lost. This is the body’s way of compensating for the additional space. Unfortunately, it can also cause misalignment and put undue stress on your jaw joints. Dental implants are just one option that helps you counter this issue.
Long-Term Benefits
- The prevention of jawbone deterioration: After natural teeth are lost, the jawbone begins to break down over time. This can compromise its foundation, putting your remaining teeth at risk. Dental implants are the only solution that replaces the root, which sits directly inside the jawbone. This protects the long-term health of your existing smile.
- True longevity you can’t find elsewhere: Implant posts are built to last for decades and possibly the rest of your life when you take care of them every day. They also carry a very high success rate, averaging about 95% to 98% even after 10 years of use.
- Improve your overall health: There is a strong correlation between those who have all of their teeth and also maintain positive overall health throughout their lives. This makes dental implants a great investment not just for your oral health, but your whole-body wellness too!
Are Dental Implants Right for Me?
You need to be missing at least one tooth (or have a tooth removed) in order to be considered a candidate for dental implants. Dr. Waheed will also need to evaluate your oral health to decide whether any preparatory treatments are required, such as periodontal therapy to take care of existing gum disease. When the time comes to plan the actual implant procedure, the treatment will be altered slightly depending on how many teeth are missing.
Missing One Tooth
When there’s only one tooth that needs to be replaced, the math is fairly simple: a single implant for a single gap. A dental crown made out of dazzling, lifelike ceramic material will be used to cover the implant so that the new tooth blends in as perfectly as possible with the rest of your natural grin.
Missing Multiple Teeth
A conservative number of implants can be used to replace many teeth at once. For example, if three or more teeth in a row have been lost, a dental bridge made up of two crowns and a number of prosthetic teeth can be supported by a pair of dental implants. Unlike a traditional bridge, implant bridges don’t require us to make any permanent changes to your remaining natural teeth.
Missing All of Your Teeth
If you’re tired of dentures that constantly have to be adjusted or repaired, you can consider having them attached to implants. While some implant dentures are designed to be removable, in most cases they’ll be permanently fixed in place. Normally, the fewest number of implant posts required to support your dentures will be between 4 and 6.
All-on-4 Dental Implants
By replacing all of your teeth with the fewest number of implants, we can simplify the entire process and give your mouth a chance to heal much faster. The All-on-4 technique also offers better stability right away, to the point where it’s often possible to give you your temporary dentures on the same day as the appointment.
Learn More About All-on-4 Dental Implants
Mini Dental Implants
Since mini dental implants don’t require as much bone density for support, they can be a viable option for anyone who has already experienced bone loss and doesn’t want to have bone grafting performed. Dr. Waheed can explain the difference between mini-implants and traditional implants during a regular consultation.
Start to Finish Convenience
Some dental office need to rely on separate specialists to handle the actual placement of dental implants, but here at Baldwin Family Dental, we can handle the entire process from start to finish – from the initial consultation to the surgery to placing the final restoration. At no point will you have to head to an unfamiliar dental office and rely on a stranger for your care; everything will be in the hands of a team that you already know well.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Many people believe dental implants are out of their price range, but they are more affordable than you might realize. Various factors affect the cost of dental implants in Panama City because every smile is unique; however, we strive to keep them affordable for everyone. After examining your mouth, we’ll create a personalized treatment strategy and provide you with an estimate. A member of our team will review your financial options to complete your smile without draining your wallet.
Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery
Replacing a tooth with a dental implant rebuilds both the root and crown. As a result, you’ll need a multi-step treatment process, which can take several months. You’ll have more time to pay for your new smile because you won’t have to come up with a lump sum. While every plan differs, you can expect your estimate to include:
- Preliminary Procedures: It’s not uncommon to need a little prep-work before your placement surgery, like gum disease treatment or tooth extractions.
- Placement Surgery: Sedation or anesthesia will be used to keep you comfortable during your placement surgery. Your implant dentist in Panama City can perform the entire process in-house, so you won’t have to pay specialist fees.
- Restoration: The type of restoration you need will affect the cost, such as a single crown or implant bridge.
- Materials: Although there are discounted materials, they can lower the lifespan of your investment.
The Parts of Your Dental Implant
If you’re treating several teeth, each tooth isn’t replaced individually. Instead, a specific number of posts can be used to support a bridge or denture. You’ll need to pay for each part of the dental implant, which will include:
- Post: A titanium post is surgically placed into the jawbone to replicate a root.
- Abutment: Each post requires an abutment to attach the restoration.
- Restoration: Your restoration is made of high-quality material to match your natural teeth.
How Dental Implants Can Save You Money
Dental implants in Panama City may cost more initially, but they are the most affordable long-term because they can last for decades. You won’t have to pay for replacements every few years like traditional prosthetics. Not to mention, they’ll reduce your overall oral health expenses. As the only treatment to replicate the root, a dental implant will keep your jawbone strong to avoid needing costly procedures in the future.
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
Every dental insurance plan differs, but most policies can be used to offset the amount you’ll pay out-of-pocket. You can use your coverage to lower the cost of certain steps in your treatment, like the consultation, imaging, or restorations. After meeting your annual deductible, your annual allowance can be used to pay up to 80% of specific services.
Making Dental Implants Affordable
Besides using your dental insurance, we offer multiple financial options to cover any remaining balance, including:
- Traditional Payments: We accept cash, checks, and credit cards.
- In-House Savings Plan: Enjoy discounted rates after an annual membership fee.
- Promotions: Ask us about any current special offers.
- Third-Party Financing: Pay for your dental implants using monthly installments through a third-party financing company.
Dental Implant Failure & Salvage
It’s true that dental implants maintain a success rate as high as 95% in most cases, even after they’ve been inside the mouth for a decade! Unfortunately, there is always a small risk they could fail. That’s why our office always explains how to properly care for your implants, especially immediately after they have been placed. If you find yourself in a situation where you believe your dental implants are failing, call us right away. By doing so, we could restore your smile through dental implant salvage treatment.
Dental Implant FAQs
If you’re missing one or more teeth, dental implants could be the solution you’re looking for. However, they are quite an investment, so it pays to be well-informed about the procedure. Here are the answers to some of the most popular questions we receive about dental implants in Panama City. If you don’t see the information that you’re looking for below, give us a call! We’d be happy to walk you through the process and get you started with an initial consultation.
How Long Do Dental Implants Last?
The lifespan of dental implants usually depends on the health and lifestyle choices of the patient. To ensure the implants last, it’s crucial that you brush twice, floss, and rinse on a daily basis. Attend your regular dental cleanings and checkups, and avoid chewing on anything particularly hard or sticky. With proper maintenance, dental implants can last for upwards of 30 years. That’s several times longer than traditional bridges and dentures.
Does Getting Dental Implants Hurt?
The jawbone doesn’t have very many nerve endings, and your mouth will be numbed with a local anesthetic before the procedure begins. You will also most likely be sedated, lowering your body’s ability to registry pain. Even though the surgery won’t be painful, your mouth may be sore for a few days afterwards. Take recommended over-the-counter and prescribed pain relievers as directed. Cold compresses can also help. If discomfort worsens instead of improving after two or three days, give us a call so we can help.
Will I Have to Take Off Work for Dental Implant Surgery?
Most patients only need to take one or two days off work to get dental implants. If your job is physically demanding, you should probably take at least three to four days off, as heavy exercise can divert blood from the implant site and delay healing. The being said, every case is different. We will be able to give you a more specific recommendation based on your unique case during your consultation.
Can I Get Dental Implants If I’m Diabetic?
If your diabetes is under control, your odds of dental implant success are generally comparable to those of nondiabetic patients. Uncontrolled diabetes can slow down the healing process, making it harder for your implants to integrate with your jawbone. If you are interested in getting dental implants but have diabetes, talk to your endocrinologist or primary care doctor about getting your blood sugar levels under control beforehand.
Maintaining & Caring For Your Dental Implants
With the potential to last for the rest of your life, dental implants are a gift that keeps on giving. However, this is only if they are cared for properly. With a few simple steps, you can safeguard your newly complete and healthy smile. Read on to learn some easy tips for dental implant care in Panama City.
Make At-Home Oral Hygiene a Priority
Your first line of defense against implant failure is a good at-home oral healthcare routine. Make sure that you’re brushing twice a day and flossing once a day to clean away infection-causing plaque and bacteria. It’s a good idea to invest in an electric toothbrush, especially if you have issues with dexterity. For an added layer of protection, use a non-alcoholic mouthwash to clean hard-to-reach areas of the mouth.
Eat a Healthy Diet
When it comes to your oral health, what you eat matters. Dental implants allow you to consume a wide range of foods, giving you the ability to enjoy a delicious and nutritious diet. However, be careful not to overindulge in hard, sticky, or extra sugary foods. These items can potentially damage your implants, plus they increase the risk of problems like gum disease and tooth decay. Instead, try eating foods rich in calcium and vitamin C to keep your jaw, teeth, and gums as healthy as possible.
Break Bad Habits
Dental implants have a success rate of 95% even after 10 years, but some bad habits can lead to their failure. Avoid using your teeth for anything other than speaking and eating. Don’t chew on nonfood items and do your best to avoid things like ice cubes that could crack your teeth. Additionally, it’s vital that you stop smoking or using tobacco products. Tobacco slows down the healing process and encourages infection. There are many cases of implant failure due to tobacco use because it weakens the strength of the gums.
Protect Your Dental Implants
Dental implants are durable and designed to last for over 30 years. That said, they are not indestructible. It’s up to you to protect them during sports or physical activity with a mouthguard. We have custom mouthguards that are comfortable to wear while also reducing the risk of dental injury. Additionally, if you suffer from bruxism (teeth grinding), it’s important to wear a nightguard. This prevents abnormal wear and tear on your restorations while also relieving pressure on your jaw.
Schedule Regular Dental Checkups
Last but not least, don’t forget to visit our implant dentist in Panama City for routine checkups and cleanings every 6 months. This gives us a chance to monitor your dental implants, catching any small problems before they become major issues. These appointments also allow our hygienists to clean areas of your smile that you couldn’t reach on your own, keeping your teeth healthy and beautiful. Additionally, this is a great time to ask any questions you may have about the maintenance of your implants.