Dental Implants in Westchester, NY

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are small, titanium posts which are placed into your jawbone with expert precision. Implants serve as artificial roots to help replace your missing teeth. Unlike dentures and bridges, implants fuse to your bone and become a seamless part of your mouth. Whether you are missing a single tooth or multiple teeth, dental implants help to provide a durable and natural-looking solution.

Implants are becoming increasingly popular every year for patients who want a high functioning and great-looking alternative to dentures or bridges.

Who Should Get Dental Implants?

Dental implants are good treatment option for patients who have lost a tooth or multiple teeth due to decay, traumatic injury, or who are developmentally missing teeth.

Anyone who meets the basic age and health requirements can receive implants. Whether you choose dental implants or dentures and bridges depends on your personal preference and budget. Today, dental implants are a very common and safe procedure and over 3 million Americans have dental implants.

The Dental Implant Process Explained

Getting dental implants is a surgical procedure, so it’s a bit more complex than some other dental practices. Here’s a quick rundown of how the process works.

Your Initial Dental Implant Consultation

If you’re a new patient, you will have to have a comprehensive oral exam to assess your medical and dental health. As a dental school, we take a team approach to care. This is an important benefit, because it means we have many dental specialists on hand. This includes periodontists and oral surgeons, who will be able to assess any potential issues involving gums, bone structure, etc. Once this initial assessment has been completed, you will be able to discuss any concerns with our implant specialists to determine if implants are the right option for you.

Preparation Before Your Dental Implant

Occasionally, patients will need a procedure to prepare the bone for dental implants. In addition to a lost tooth, patients often have other underlying issues with gums and bone structure that need to be addressed. This preparation is important because it ensures healthy structures are in place that will support the implant for years to come.

Patients who have lost teeth and bone don’t have enough bone to support a dental implant. In this case, we have to regrow bone through a process called guided bone regeneration surgery. Depending on the size of the defect and bone grafting material, this process can take time to heal. In cases like these, we have to wait until the healing process is complete, and cannot insert implants right away.

Dental Implant Placement

After all of the preparatory procedures are finished, it’s time to insert your implant. The implant specialist will drill a small hole into the bone and insert a titanium implant. Over a period of several months, the jawbone will actually fuse to the titanium. This will create a durable root to support your new tooth.

Final Implant Restoration

After your dental implant is placed and your bone and gum has fully healed, it’s time to add your crown. A crown is the finishing touch on your implant and restores the function and appearance of a full, healthy tooth.

The Benefits of Dental Implants

Dental implants are often the preferred choice for replacing lost or decaying teeth. Here are a few of the most common reasons patients choose dental implants:

• A Secure and Permanent Solution - Dental implants are the most durable and long-lasting solution for replacing lost teeth.
• Bone Loss Prevention - Dental implants actually prevent bone loss by stabilizing the surrounding bone and support your mouth’s natural structure. Dental implants can also help you look more youthful, as the bone supports facial muscles.
• Natural Look and Function - Along with looking identical to real teeth, dental implants provide the best function for chewing and speaking. 
• Easy Maintenance - With implants, you don’t need to worry about your new teeth falling or getting damaged like you might with dentures. You also don’t need to worry about disinfecting; simply brush and floss your implants as you would your regular teeth.

Why Choose Touro for Dental Implants?

All implant work at Touro is overseen by board certified specialists, and you’ll receive the best level of care. Touro Dental is also equipped with the latest digital dentistry tools. We use state-of-the-art scanning and 3D imaging technology to pre-plan our surgery for precision and safety. We also have a board-certified radiologist that analyzes every pre-surgery scan and closely collaborates with our surgeons.

The main technology that sets Touro apart is our 3D CBCT machine. No implant gets placed without this 3D view of the jaw. This digital analysis of the bone improves accuracy because we know exactly where the implant should be placed. Not every dental implant practice uses this technology. Having a detailed digital scan of the jaw means higher accuracy and a more successful implant.

Affordable Dental Implants, Yet an Exceptional Level of Care

Our implant specialists choose to work at Touro because they want to contribute to the education of the next generation of dentists. Because Touro is a dental school, choosing us for your implants is an affordable choice. For example, replacing a full arch of teeth here will generally end up saving you up to $10-20k.

Common Questions From Patients

What disqualifies you from dental implants?

While most adults can get implants, those who have certain health conditions may not be approved. For example, those with an uncontrolled disease, a recent heart attack or stroke, or those taking certain medications that contribute to bone loss, may all be ineligible. Rest assured that we review your medical history and any potential challenges before approving you for implant surgery.

How painful is getting a dental implant?

Perhaps surprising to some, dental implant surgery generally isn’t painful at all. This is because the tooth has already been removed and there’s no nerve ending to actually cause pain.

If there are certain preparatory procedures to prepare the mouth for an implant, this can potentially cause discomfort. If a patient needs some minor gum flap surgery or bone grafting surgery before placing an implant, there may be some discomfort after the procedure.

Are dental implants really worth it?

Whether dental implant surgery is worth it depends on each individual’s unique situation. Generally speaking, most patients prefer implants because they feel the most like natural teeth. They’re more comfortable compared to alternatives like dentures or bridges. They also function better for chewing, speaking and often allow patients the best tasting experience.

Dental implants also simply look the best, although all dental prosthetics are designed to look natural in your mouth. The main reason some patients might opt out of implant surgery is because of the cost of the procedure.

How much time does dental implant surgery take?

At Touro Dental, dental implant surgery generally lasts one to two hours. Because students are involved, we work at a slower pace to ensure the highest quality of work.

Keep in mind that because there are sometimes preparatory procedures, the entire process of preparing your mouth for implants and actually inserting the implant and crown can sometimes take place over a period of months. During your initial consultation, you’ll get a more accurate assessment of how long the dental implant process will last.

How long do dental implants last?

Dental implants are extremely resilient and are designed to last anywhere from 25-30 years to a patient’s entire lifetime. That said, every patient is different and has a different health situation. For example, certain medications, such as some steroids, can actually leach calcium from the bone tissue. As a result, this can impact the life of your dental implant. But for generally healthy patients without any special concerns, dental implants have a remarkably long shelf life.

Are there any risks associated with dental implants?

Like with any medical procedure, there are potential risks. No surgery is 100% risk-free. Potential risks include damage to the surrounding teeth or tissue, infection, or numbness.

That being said, it’s extremely rare for any complication to happen as long as the patient’s medical history and situation has been fully evaluated. At Touro, we also take highly advanced digital maps of your teeth and surrounding tissues for every implant surgery. In short, we are very precise when placing an implant and it’s extremely rare there would be any complications.

What is the success rate of dental implant procedures?

In the field as a whole, dental implants have a success rate between 90%-95%. Having a varied team of dental specialists on hand and the latest digital dentistry tools helps us ensure accuracy during surgery.

What kind of maintenance is needed after dental implant surgery?

Patients should take care of their implant normally as if it was a real tooth, including flossing and brushing. After surgery, patients should expect to only eat soft foods for anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months. The amount of time required depends on how extensive the surgery was, whether bone grafting was involved, etc.