Dental implants are a permanent and natural looking way to replace missing teeth, but they aren't suitable for everyone. Our Richmond dentist explains more about who might be good candidate for dental implants.
If you have missing teeth, dental implants are a natural looking, permanent tooth replacement option worth considering.
That said, to support dental implants, the patient must have a strong healthy gums and jawbone. That's why, for those patients who suffer from oral health problems such as gingivitis, or bone loss due to a tooth abscess, dental implants may not be the most suitable tooth replacement option.
In some cases patients can have a bone graft done in order to strengthen the jawbone and make dental implants possible.
If a bone graft is required and the patient decides to proceed with dental implants, the surgeon will use a special bone grafting material or take a section of bone from a different part of the body, and graft it onto the jaw.
The bone graft may take several months completely heal. Once healed the dentist will be able to begin the dental implant process.
