Dental Implants Durham
The Closest Alternative to Your Natural Teeth
The American College of Prosthodontists estimates that more than 36 million Americans have no teeth, while 120 million are missing at least one tooth, with these numbers expected to increase with time. If your confidence, health, and overall well-being are suffering due to tooth loss, our team offers a lifelike replacement option that can help - dental implants. This treatment uses leading-edge techniques and technology to offer lifelike results, allowing you to smile with pride once again. Call our office to schedule a consultation with Dr. Ulloa and learn more about dental implants in Durham!
Why Choose Crafting Smiles for Dental Implants?
- We Partner with Local Experts for Placement
- Customized Treatment, Lifelike Results
- Advanced Dental Technology for Precision
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are small titanium posts that are inserted below the gumline and into the jawbone to restore the missing root structure of one or more teeth. They can naturally fuse with the jawbone through a process called osseointegration, allowing them to offer a bridge, crown, or denture a strong, unwavering support system to be attached to. Because dental implants can restore both the roots and crowns of missing teeth, they offer a variety of unique benefits, including a natural look and feel.
The 4 Step Dental Implant Process
Compared to restorations like crowns or bridges, dental implants have a much longer and more meticulous path they take from start to finish. However, every step in the process is necessary, designed to fit together like a puzzle until the final product is stable, highly durable, and aesthetically pleasing. While it takes patience, this multi-phase approach is exactly how dental implants received their reputation as the "gold standard" for tooth replacement. Here's a look at each step in the process, so you'll know what to expect.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
Every successful implant case starts with a thorough consultation. There, Dr. Ulloa will review your dental and medical history, examine your gums and remaining teeth, and evaluate your jawbone density using advanced imaging.
If you need any preliminary care, like gum disease treatment or bone grafting, that will be addressed first. This visit is where your entire treatment plan takes shape, so you leave with a clear understanding of timeline, cost, and what to expect at each stage ahead.
Dental Implant Surgery
Once your treatment plan is finalized, the next step is surgical placement. For this stage of your care, Dr. Ulloa partners with a trusted local oral surgeon. This ensures that the implant posts are placed with the highest level of surgical precision.
During the procedure, the surgeon secures each titanium post below your gumline and into the jawbone at a carefully planned position and angle. This forms the foundation of your future restoration that will stay stable for many, many years.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement
Following surgery, your jawbone needs time to fuse with the implant posts through a process called osseointegration, which typically takes three to six months. During this time, our Durham team will be there to keep an eye on your progress with periodic checkups.
Once the bone has fully integrated with the implants, small connector pieces called abutments are attached to the tops of the posts, preparing them to support your final restoration.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
The last step is where it all comes together! Once your custom crown, bridge, or denture arrives from the dental lab, our team will check that it fits perfectly and matches the color of your surrounding teeth. After it's securely attached to the abutments and final adjustments are made, you'll leave our office with a complete, confident smile that's ready to help you chew, speak, and laugh out loud.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants in Durham have a variety of benefits to offer, including:
- Prevention of jawbone deterioration over time.
- Preservation of facial structure and appearance.
- Enhanced eating and speaking abilities.
- Lifelike appearance and function.
- No slipping or shifting restorations.
- Boosted confidence and well-being.
- Easier to maintain good dental health and hygiene.
- Ability to restore any number of missing teeth.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
The best way to find out whether dental implants are right for you is to schedule a consultation with Dr. Ulloa. Once our team has had an opportunity to assess your dental health and jawbone density, we can determine whether dental implants will be able to integrate with your smile successfully. This treatment is a wonderful solution whether you’re missing one, several, or all of your teeth. Depending on your situation, we may recommend one of the pathways below.
Missing One Tooth
For a single missing tooth, we will secure one dental implant below the gumline to hold a free-standing crown in place. This will fill the gap between two teeth without requiring you to alter your healthy dental structure.
Missing Multiple Teeth
If you’re missing multiple consecutive teeth, we can support a dental bridge with two dental implants located at either end of the space in your arch. They will anchor the restoration firmly in place without relying on your natural teeth. We can also combine this method with the one we use to secure a free-standing crown to replace non-consecutive missing teeth.
Missing All of Your Teeth
To replace an entire arch of missing teeth, we will anchor a denture onto anywhere between four and eight dental implants spread throughout your gumline. This will eliminate any slipping or shifting that you may experience with a traditional denture.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
With dental implants, you can permanently restore missing teeth and create a beautiful, functional smile that’s easy to maintain. Because this treatment is completely customizable, there’s no way to quote you a one-size-fits-all price. However, we are happy to give you a complete breakdown of your total following your consultation with Dr. Ulloa. While we do understand that dental implants can be more expensive than other tooth replacement options, most patients find this treatment well worth the price. To make it more affordable for our patients, we are pleased to welcome all dental insurance plans and are in-network with Delta Dental Premier. We also happily accept flexible financing plans and even have our own dental membership program which provides a valuable discount on any treatment provided in-house.
Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery
In many cases, patients will need some preliminary treatments prior to getting dental implants. Procedures such as tooth extractions, bone grafting, and gum disease therapy all incur separate costs, but are extremely important for ensuring your dental implants have the best odds for success. Furthermore, your dental implant surgery itself will also incur its own cost, which will vary depending on where along your arch the implant(s) will be placed, and the type of anesthesia required.
Because Dr. Ulloa wants your newly rebuilt smile to have the best possible chance of success, he is pleased to partner with a local specialist to complete your dental implant surgery. Once you have met with us, we will refer you to the surgical team, who will go over the details and cost of your upcoming procedure at your consultation with them.
The Parts of Your Dental Implant
Even a single dental implant is comprised of multiple parts, each of which will incur their own separate costs, and can vary in price depending on the following:
- The number of dental implants you are receiving. Getting a single implant is less expensive than getting four to six to secure an implant denture but selecting an implant denture to restore an entire arch is more economical than replacing each missing tooth individually.
- The type of restoration you have selected. A single crown is more affordable than a bridge or denture. Essentially, the smaller the restoration, the lower the price.
- The size or material your dental implant posts are made of. Typically, you can choose between titanium and zirconium. Titanium is less expensive, but zirconium is ideal for patients with metal allergies or who want a more realistic looking post. They can also be made at different lengths depending on where along the arch they’ll be implanted.
- Finally, the brand of the dental implant you select will also influence the price. Much like with TVs and refrigerators, different dental labs create a variety of implant styles to suit the unique needs of a wide range of patients. Dr. Ulloa can help you select a restoration that works best for you and your smile during your consultation.
How Dental Implants Can Save You Money
Although it may seem more economical to simply go with a temporary restoration like dentures or a dental bridge to replace your missing teeth, when you do the math, dental implants may just be the more affordable solution. That’s because with dental implants, you won’t need to worry about replacing your restorations every five to ten years like you do with bridges and dentures, and because they’re stronger and longer lasting, they won’t need costly repairs, expensive soaks, or uncomfortable adhesives to stay in place. Better still, because they won’t shift or change shape, your dental implants won’t cause painful mouth sores, oral infections, jawbone deterioration or any of their associated treatment costs. In fact, because they’ll likely improve your oral health, they could even benefit your overall health, too!
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
Although most dental insurance plans won’t cover dental implants, there are sometimes exceptions, and our team is happy to review your plan to see what you qualify for. Often, certain portions of dental implant treatment may qualify for coverage, such as a percentage of the final restoration or preliminary treatments like extractions or gum disease therapy.
Making Dental Implants Affordable
In addition to being dental insurance friendly, we are also happy to welcome the following options for making your dental implant treatment more affordable, including:
- Sunbit Financing: This program works with a trusted third-party lender who can break up the balance of your dental implant treatment into multiple, low or no interest monthly payments that may be more affordable to your individual budget.
- In-House Membership Plan: We are pleased to introduce our in-house membership plan, which for a low annual fee provides a variety of preventive dental treatments and discounts on restorative procedures like dental implants.
If you are interested in learning more about our in-house membership plan or our flexible financing program with Sunbit, or for any other questions about paying for your dental implant treatment, don’t hesitate to contact us for more information at your earliest convenience.
Dental Implant FAQs
We get many questions about dental implants from patients. Below are just some of them with our responses. If you have questions about this replacement option, we encourage you to reach out to us and schedule a consultation with Dr. Ulloa.
Does Getting Dental Implants Hurt?
At every stage of treatment, we want to make sure you’re comfortable. Part of the dental implant process involves minor surgery. As a result, you are likely to experience some amount of discomfort in recovery, but you should be completely numb during the procedure itself. After implant placement, if you feel mild pain, you should be able to control it with over-the-counter medication. Know that it will just be temporary. Within a few days of placement, your mouth should feel mostly normal again.
How Long Does It Take to Get Dental Implants?
No two dental implant cases are exactly alike, which means the timeline can vary from patient to patient. In some cases, treatment can take as few as six months from start to finish, while in others, implants require up to a year to complete. Keep in mind that this timeframe depends on how many implants you’re getting, how quickly you heal and produce new jawbone growth, and other factors. When you come in for your consultation, we can estimate a general timeline based on your unique needs and situation.
Can Dental Implants Get Cavities?
No, dental implants are impervious to tooth decay, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to take care of them. Plaque can build up on them, infecting the nearby gums. The bacteria can then spread to the jawbone, weakening the support it gives to your implants and leading to failure. As a result, it’s essential that you maintain your restored teeth just as you would a natural, healthy smile. Diligent, daily brushing and flossing along with regular checkups with Dr. Ulloa can keep your implants in excellent condition for the long term.
Are There Food Restrictions with Dental Implants?
For a few days following your implant placement, you should eat liquid and soft foods only while you recover, but once your implants are restored, you are not limited in your food choices. In fact, your dental implants should be strong enough to enable you to eat basically anything you want! With that said, you should treat them like natural teeth and avoid chewing on ice, popcorn kernels, and the like to prevent unnecessary damage.