Dental Implants — Frisco, TX

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

The first step is to visit your general dentist for a dental implant consultation. During this appointment, your dentist will evaluate your overall oral health as well as the current state of your jawbone. The main goal of the consultation will be to determine whether you’re a good candidate for dental implants; if you are, your dentist will explain what you can expect from the rest of the process.

In some cases, your dentist may determine that you need certain preliminary treatments in order to qualify for dental implants. This may include bone grafting to add bone density to your jaw or periodontal treatment to address gum disease. Our periodontal team will be more than happy to handle these procedures in order to get you one step closer to rebuilding your smile.

Dental Implant Surgery

When the time comes to have your dental implants placed, the procedure will be performed right here at Frisco Periodontics and Dental Implants. Our team will numb your mouth with a local anesthetic before making a small incision in your gums. We will then insert the implant posts at carefully chosen angles at precise locations in your jawbone. Once the gums have been sutured shut, we’ll attach a protective cap to each of your implant posts.

Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment

After dental implants have been inserted into your jaw, they will start to fuse with the bone around them. This process, known as osseointegration, is essential for creating a stable foundation for your new smile. The timeline for osseointegration can be anywhere from three to six months depending on your situation.

Once the implant posts have finished bonding with the jawbone, you’ll be ready to receive your abutments. These special connector pieces will be attached to your dental implants via a second surgery; rest assured that this procedure will be less invasive and require less recovery time than the initial implant placement surgery.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s)

You’ll return to your general dentist for the last step of the dental implant process, which involves designing and placing the final crown, bridge, or denture that will act as your replacement teeth. The prosthesis will be carefully designed based on an impression of your mouth. Once it’s ready, it will be secured to your dental implants via the abutments. After your dentist has made sure that everything looks good, you’ll walk out with your recompleted smile.

Day-to-Day Benefits

Tooth loss can detract from your daily experience because once-basic activities like eating, speaking, and smiling authentically suddenly become much more challenging. Dental implants can help in the following ways:

• Restore chewing power. They’re firmly rooted in your jaw so you can eat a wide variety of healthy foods that support your dental and general well-being.
• Improve enunciation. Gaps in your grin can lead to a slur, lisp, or other changes in your speech patterns which can be overcome with your restoration in place.
• Easy to maintain. Cleaning them is as simple as brushing and flossing twice daily; there’s no need or ability to remove them or soak them in a cleaning solution overnight.
• Natural appearance. Carnow will provide a lifelike prosthetic to cap your implant that’s customized to look like your natural teeth for seamless results.

Health Benefits

There are additional advantages of having dental implants that are less immediately obvious but no less significant. You’ll also enjoy the following benefits to your oral and overall health:

• Preserve your jawbone. These are the only restorations that have a titanium rod that fuses with your jawbone and functions like a root to stimulate new bone growth when you bite down to keep it active and strong.
• Avoid sores. Dentures press against your gums all day and can cut off circulation or cause raw spots to develop, but implants don’t rely on your connective tissues to remain put.
• Protect your teeth. Dental bridges often require that enamel is removed from healthy teeth to serve as anchors, but these prosthetics don’t require that any remaining teeth be altered to accommodate them.
• Improve your diet. You can eat a wider variety of wholesome foods so your bodily systems function at their peak without worrying that your restoration will be loosed, damaged, or dislodged.

Long-Term Benefits

The metal support rod of your implants eventually fuses with your jawbone so it becomes a permanent part of your smile, meaning you can potentially enjoy these additional perks for decades:

• This procedure has an incredibly high success rate of more than 90% even up to 10 years after the initial placement for replacement teeth you can count on.
• They are made from resilient, biocompatible materials like titanium and ceramic that aren’t easily harmed.
• These restorations can last 25+ years with the right care, making them an excellent long-term solution.
• Pay for themselves. They tend to cost more upfront, but there’s no need to invest in additional supplies like adhesives, soaking solutions, or special pastes to maintain them. Plus, they’re stronger than dentures and dental bridges and typically require fewer repairs or replacements, meaning they can save you money over time.

Missing 1 Tooth

For a single missing tooth, we’ll simply place one dental implant into the socket where the missing tooth’s roots once were. After osseointegration, the implant is then topped with a custom-made crown that blends in seamlessly with the rest of your smile.

Missing Multiple Teeth

When replacing individual teeth with implants, one implant typically equals one new tooth/restoration. However, in cases where greater coverage is required, Dr. Carnow may use strategically placed implants to replace several teeth at once with an implant-supported bridge. This creates a stable and healthier foundation for the prosthetic while remaining more cost-effective for the patient. 

Missing All Teeth

Patients who are missing all their teeth or are tired of their traditional dentures will be happy to know that implant dentures can replace a full arch of missing teeth.  With four to eight strategically placed dental implants, we can anchor a full denture into place with unmatched stability and comfort.