Dental Implants — Long Beach, NY
The Closest Alternative to Your Natural Teeth
Are you tired of having gaps in your smile that make it uncomfortable to do basic, day-to-day tasks like eat and speak? You don’t have to settle for traditional restorative options that require the alteration of your natural teeth. Dental implants are the latest and greatest tooth replacement option, and they’re the closest alternative to your natural teeth. At Dr. Glen’s Happy Teeth, we offer start-to-finish dental implants in Long Beach, NY that replace the entire structure of missing teeth, from the roots upward, for a natural look and feel. Give us a call today to see if dental implants are the solution you’ve been looking for!
Why Choose Dr. Glen's Happy Teeth For Dental Implants?
- Entire Dental Implant Treatment Completed In-House
- Replace Any Number of Missing Teeth for Life
- Several Options for Making Dental Implants Affordable
What Are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is a small titanium post that is placed beneath your gumline. This is what allows it to replace the roots of your missing tooth, and what sets it apart from traditional tooth replacement options like dentures and dental bridges. Since titanium is biocompatible, the implant will begin a process called osseointegration once placed, where it integrates with the bone tissue and essentially becomes a part of your jaw just like the roots of a natural tooth. Then, we’ll place a connector piece called an abutment on top of the implant. This will secure a custom-made dental crown, bridge, or denture in place, leaving you with a new smile that looks, feels, and functions, as good as new!
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
Unlike other tooth replacements, dental implants take a while to get. In fact, they require a multi-step process that spans several months! Still, you can trust these prosthetics’ benefits justify the time and effort. Our practice guarantees results by placing implants in-house, not with an outside specialist. Dr. Tong, in particular, has years of experience and will ensure your final smile is beautiful. As such, you can expect treatment to involve four main steps: consultation, surgery, osseointegration, and final restoration.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
The first step to getting dental implants is a dentist consultation. At that visit, you and our team will discuss smile goals, medical history, etc.
One reason for a consult is to see if implants are right for you. An in-person discussion, you see, lets us learn your oral situation. Based on our findings, we can then confirm whether treatment would help. If necessary, we’ll even suggest preliminary work you’d need before surgery.
At the same time, this visit helps you know how implant placement works. Should we give you the go-ahead, we’ll walk you through its steps – the timeline, the cost, and so on.
Dental Implant Surgery
As said before, our office does implant surgery in-house. You thus won’t need to travel far for an expensive specialist. Plus, getting implants with us means the dentist can access your records quickly. (We likely already have them on file!)
At the surgery itself, the following will take place:
- Mouth Numbing – Our dental team will numb your mouth before treatment. That way, you won’t feel any discomfort from the implant work.
- A Dental Incision – After the numbing, we’ll make an incision in your gums. The resulting space creates room for the implant.
- Implant Placement – The dentist will place an implant in your jaw socket using advanced tools.
- Closure of Gums – We’ll close your incision and put a cap over the post
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment
Implant treatment doesn’t stop when surgery ends. After placement, you must wait for the prosthetic to fuse with your jaw. This process – known as osseointegration – lasts 4-6 months and helps the new tooth remain stable and secure. Therefore, you should keep the treatment site safe while fusion occurs.
Once your gums have healed, you’ll return to our office for your implant’s abutment. The latter – a metal part – will serve as a base for the crown. As you recover from this extra surgery, your final restoration will be crafted from dental impressions of your mouth.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s)
The last step of treatment is to receive your final restoration(s). Often this is a crown, though it may be a bridge or denture in some cases. Regardless, placing it isn’t a lengthy process; we’ll likely only need an hour.
We’ll make a few last-minute adjustments when the restoration is fully fitted. These changes will make sure that your bite stays comfortable. After that, you’ll be ready to enjoy a new and improved smile!
How Dental Implants Can Change Your Life
Dental implants are one of the most popular tooth replacement options among patients because they offer a variety of benefits you simply can’t get with dentures or dental bridges. This unique tooth replacement option is designed to be virtually indistinguishable from natural teeth in practically every way possible. That’s why they’re widely considered the gold standard for tooth replacement! Read on as we go over a few of the most popular reasons why our patients love their dental implants.
Day-to-Day Benefits
- Stable and Natural-Feeling: Dental implants are designed to not only look natural, but feel that way as well. That means everything from smiling to chewing to laughing all feel like how it did before you had your original tooth removed. This is thanks to the integration process that occurs between the titanium post and the bone tissue.
- Easy to Care for: Unlike other restorations, dental implants don’t require any special maintenance just to keep clean. They are one of the easier restorations to maintain, especially when you only need to replace a single tooth. Simply brush and floss as normal to keep food particles off the abutment and gum tissue. As a bonus, the restoration on top of the implant cannot develop decay!
- Say Goodbye to Slipping and Irritation: The restoration is attached to an abutment, which is then connected to the implant post. This ensures that the restoration is tightly in place and does not shift whatsoever while in use. This cannot be said for dentures, which not only take time to adjust to, but will eventually become loose as the underlying bone tissue changes shape.
Health Benefits
- Eat All Your Favorite Nutritious Foods: The enhanced chewing power that dental implants provide means you can enjoy all your favorite foods with ease. Whether you want to eat your favorite steak dinner or simply eat apples and other crunchy foods without worry of your teeth falling out, dental implants can make it happen, even when you’re missing all of your teeth.
- Boost Your Overall Health with Better Nutrition: Since you are able to eat a larger variety of foods, it’s much easier to expand your diet and protect your long-term nutrition. This can be especially important if you are older and want to still enjoy many foods while staying healthy.
- Stop Jawbone Deterioration in Its Tracks: The moment a tooth is lost, the risk of future tooth loss goes up. That means once you replace teeth with dental implants, you’re automatically reducing your risk of losing more teeth in the future.
Long-Term Benefits
- Self-Supporting & Long-Lasting Results: Replacing teeth with dental implants works to preserve the shape and integrity of the jawbone. That means you can expect it to remain strong for many years following dental implant treatment. Of course, that also means the shape of the jawbone is retained, so you can expect your facial appearance to remain unchanged.
- Enjoy A Smile That Lasts a Lifetime: There are few tooth replacement options out there that can tout the longevity dental implants can. In fact, they are capable of lasting well over 30 years! In many cases, patients end up enjoying their dental implants for the rest of their lives.
- Reliable Success Rates: There are few things more frustrating than a tooth replacement that you can’t rely on. The fact of the matter is dental implants hold a success rate that falls between 95% and 98%, giving you the confidence you need to live life to the fullest.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
The best way to learn whether dental implants are the right choice for you is to visit us for a consultation. During your appointment, we’ll examine your mouth as well as capture digital images of your jawbone and facial structure. We’ll be looking to make sure that your jawbone can sustain dental implants that are placed. We’ll also speak to you about your medical history and ask about any medications you’re taking that could impact your body’s ability to quickly heal from the surgery. Once we’ve determined that you’d be a great match for dental implants in Long Beach, we’ll outline the entire process with you. To learn more about this method of tooth replacement, continue reading or give us a call !
Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?
Dental implants are one of the most popular solutions for missing teeth because almost any healthy adult can get them! There are only three things you need to have to be considered a good candidate for this method of tooth replacement:
- Good Overall Health – Since implants require oral surgery, your health needs to be in good condition before you can undergo the procedure.
- Excellent Oral Health – Problems like cavities, decay, and gum disease must be treated before getting implants because they can interfere with the success of your treatment.
- Sufficient Jawbone Density – For successful treatment, your jawbone must be strong enough to support dental implants.
If you’re not a good candidate at first, don’t worry – you may still be able to get implants. Depending on your case, you might need to undergo preliminary dental work (i.e., tooth extractions, periodontal therapy, bone grafting) before getting dental implants in Long Beach. Once your smile is in ideal condition, our team will start working on your personalized treatment plan.
Missing One Tooth
For a single gap in your smile, we can place one dental implant below the gums. Once the abutment is secured, we can then connect a custom-crafted dental crown to complete your entire arch of teeth and restore your smile. It will also keep surrounding teeth from drifting out of place to fill the gap.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Instead of getting a traditional bridge that requires you to alter your healthy, natural teeth, we can secure a custom bridge to two dental implants placed on either side of the gap in your smile. It will make eating, speaking, and other basic tasks easier and more comfortable.
Missing All Teeth
Many patients who are missing all of their teeth and have dentures complain about instability. Instead of dealing with slipping and shifting restorations, we will secure your denture onto anywhere from four to eight dental implants placed along your arch. This will help your replacement teeth feel natural, comfortable, and be fully functional.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Everybody’s smile is different, which means that there’s no standard cost of dental implants. Once we’ve examined your mouth and digital X-rays, we’ll draw up a custom treatment plan and walk you through the details of your personalized procedure. While dental implants usually cost more upfront than other restorations, they are a long-term investment in your health, confidence, and quality of life. Our team will be happy to discuss different financing strategies to ensure implants fit within your budget! Below are some of the factors to keep in mind when considering the final cost of dental implants in Long Beach.
Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery
If needed, preliminary services like gum disease therapy, root canal therapy, sinus lifts, or bone grafting can help you get ready for implant treatment. While these procedures will add to your final costs, they are vital for maximizing the success of your new smile. Thankfully, many preliminary services are partially covered by dental insurance.
Dental implant surgery also incurs its own cost, depending where the implants are being placed in the jaw and what kind of sedation or anesthesia you need. At Dr. Glen’s Happy Teeth, we’re proud to offer start-to-finish implant treatment, saving our patients time, money, and the hassle of visiting an outside specialist for implant surgery.
The Parts of Your Dental Implant
The biggest factor that influences the cost of your treatment will be the dental implant or implants themselves. This price will depend on several variables, like:
- Number of dental implants: Naturally, the more dental implants you need to anchor your new teeth in place, the more your treatment will cost.
- Type of restoration: An implant crown will cost less than an implant denture, but implant dentures are still the more cost-effective choice when replacing many missing teeth.
- Size or material: Dental implants can be made in various sizes, shapes, and materials depending on each patient’s specific circumstances.
- Brand of dental implant: Like cars or cell phones, there are several different companies that produce dental implants. Our implant dentists in Long Beach only utilize trusted, well-known brands to ensure our patients receive the highest-quality results.
How Dental Implants Can Save You Money
It’s no secret that dental implants initially cost more than traditional tooth replacement options like dentures and dental bridges. However, many people don’t realize that dental implants often end up paying for themselves and saving a tremendous amount of money over time. While dentures and dental bridges need to be replaced every five to ten years, dental implants have the potential to last a lifetime, saving you thousands of dollars in replacement costs alone. Plus, you won’t need to buy any special cleaning products or pastes, and studies show that dental implants can lower your oral and overall healthcare costs as well. To top it all off, most patients agree that the confidence, peace-of-mind, and quality of life regained thanks to dental implants are truly priceless.
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
Many dental insurance companies do not cover dental implants in Long Beach, but there are important exceptions. For instance, consultations, sedation, restorations, and preliminary treatments often receive partial insurance coverage. Need up help understanding your plan? Our knowledgeable team will be happy to review the details of your insurance policy with you and will work to maximize your benefits.
Making Dental Implants Affordable
Dental insurance isn’t the only way to make dental implants affordable. For instance, qualified patients can sign up for Lending Tree financing. This financing company offers low- to no-interest payment plans for extensive dental treatment. Thanks to Lending Tree, you can easily break down the cost of dental implants into manageable monthly payments. Additionally, we offer our own In-House Membership Plan! For one flat annual rate, you can access exams, cleanings, X-rays, and other services at heavily discounted prices. To apply for either, visit us online or give us a call.
Dental Implant FAQs
Because dental implants require a surgical process, there is much curiosity surrounding the treatment. For any specific concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our office. However, we know you may also be busy or just like to do your own research, which is why we’ve included the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about dental implants. Read on to learn more!
Does Getting Dental Implants Hurt?
Dental implants are incredibly popular, but when patients hear that surgery is required, they are often worried about pain. However, we will ensure that the area is completely numb with local anesthetic, plus we offer sedation for a greater sense of comfort. Additionally, there are very few pain-sensing nerves in the jaw, which makes the surgery much less painless than you may expect. The only discomfort you’ll feel is some slight soreness that occurs when the procedure is over.
Will I Have to Take Off Work for Dental Implant Surgery?
Usually, you will only have to take 1, maybe 2, days off of work. Every case is different, which is why we will always provide you with personalized recommendations based on your needs. Many patients elect to have their surgery on a Friday so they can take the weekend to relax. If your job is physically demanding, you should probably take at least 3 to 4 days off. You should also avoid significant exercise during this time to promote healing.
How Successful Are Dental Implants?
Even a decade after surgery, dental implants have a success rate of 95% when placed by a skilled professional. That said, the success and longevity of your implants will depend on how well they are maintained. Make sure that you’re brushing, flossing, and visiting our office for checkups regularly. Additionally, implant success can vary based on the position in your mouth – molars experience higher pressure from chewing, making them more likely to fail.
Will People Be Able to Teel That I Have Dental Implants?
Your implant restorations are custom made based on impressions of your smile. Once your restorations are placed, they will seamlessly blend in with the rest of your smile – no one will be able to tell you have them. In fact, because dental implants are rooted in the jaw, they allow your restorations to mimic the way that your natural teeth emerge from the gumline. Plus, you’ll never have to position your jaw in an unnatural way because of your dentures.
Will I Need a Bone Graft to Get Dental Implants?
Bone grafting is a treatment that transplants a piece of bone tissue to the jawbone, strengthening it so that it can accommodate dental implants. The grafted piece of bone can be synthetic, animal, or from your own body. Bone deterioration occurs because the jawbone is no longer receiving stimulation from the tooth roots when they’re lost. We will take detailed scans of your jawbone to determine whether grafting is necessary.