Living with missing teeth can be both embarrassing and difficult. Dental implants can restore your smile and make your mouth whole again. In order to get dental implants, you will want to prepare yourself for the process.
1. Getting the Initial Implants
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Getting dental implants is fairly quick and does not require you to stay in the hospital. You need someone to drive you to the appointment, however, because the surgeon will use anesthesia to put you under.
During the surgery, the surgeon has to drill the implant into your gums in place of the missing tooth. A dental implant looks like a flat screw, but the difference is that the top of the screw has a little hole for a splint. The implant goes through your jaw bone as well, which is necessary so that the implant can act as a firm anchor for a new tooth.
2. Preventing Infection and Pain
Your mouth will be tender and swollen after the surgery, so take prescription pain killers and ice your face.
Also, you need to keep the implant and tissue clean so that an infection does not form. Your doctor will prescribe antibiotics in addition to the pain killers, and you also have to rinse with prescription mouthwash.
In addition to these first 2 cleaning methods, you can also swish with salt water since salt is a natural bacteria killer. Use the salt water after every meal since food is the main source of bacteria in your mouth. As long as you follow these instructions, your gums will form to the implant so that it becomes a permanent part of your mouth.
3. Getting the Crown
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Once your gums have healed, you can get a crown that attaches to the implant. You will first get a temporary crown from your dentist while the real crown is being made in a dental lab, and then the real crown can be fitted.
As long as you care for the crown, you will not need to get it replaced for at least 5 years. Good hygiene and good eating habits can help the crown to last for at least 10 or 15 years, so replacement should not be necessary for a while.
These are the 3 basic steps you will have to go through in order to get dental implants. Instead of living without a full smile, visit your dentist today to start the dental implant process.
