A Personalized Treatment for Every Patient
Dental implants are a remarkable solution because they function and look like natural teeth. Unlike dental bridges, they also don’t require you to file down or damage healthy adjacent teeth. This makes dental implants a highly attractive option for anybody seeking to replace missing or damaged teeth.
Since implants use your jawbone to anchor in place, an ideal candidate should have strong bone density and healthy gums. If you’ve been missing one or more teeth for a long period of time, the more narrow your jaw ridge likely is.
In these cases, it’s common to undergo supplemental treatments in order to restore the health of your jawbone or gums. Supplemental procedures offer a viable path toward dental implant placement and enhance the rate of success for your procedure. At our Vista dental office, Dr. Henninger can place your dental implants and perform any necessary supplemental procedures under one roof for maximum convenience.
Strengthen Your Jawbone
Your jaw performs several vital functions and one of these is to anchor our teeth in place. The jaw also gets its stimulation from our teeth for chewing and speaking.
When a tooth falls out, is extracted, or simply never grows in, and it’s not replaced by a dental implant, there’s no longer something there to stimulate the jaw. As a result, the tissue begins to disappear and the jaw’s ridge starts to weaken and change shape.
Without sufficient bone density, an implant can’t be secured. If this is the case, a bone graft can help restore tissue density to the affected area of the jaw and make the placement of a dental implant possible.
The Bone Graft Procedure
WOur San Diego dental implant provider uses i-CAT technology, which takes a 3D digital impression of your oral anatomy, down to the density, volume, and dimensions of the jaw. This technology allows us to plan your dental implant surgery with more precision, accuracy, and overall success. By finding the most optimal location for the implant, we also try to minimize the need for bone grafting altogether. With that being said, sometimes grafting may be necessary.
A bone graft is a procedure in which bone tissue is applied, or grafted, to the area of the jaw that needs strengthening. As it heals, this new tissue will regenerate and strengthen your jawbone as it reinforces and replaces grafted tissue with bone generated by your body.
A restored jaw improves your candidacy for dental implant treatment. It also helps preserve your facial structure and enhances a more youthful appearance. Areas of the jawline where your bone is weak are prone to suffering from premature wrinkling of the skin and can take on a “sunken” look, so a bone graft can help avoid these issues and even reverse them.
Gum Disease Treatment
If your gums become damaged or weak from periodontal disease, we can offer you treatment to help restore your oral health and allow you to receive dental implants. We provide a variety of gum disease treatments depending on how severe your condition is.
During your initial consultation, Dr. Henninger will be able to determine which gum disease treatment you’ll need prior to receiving dental implants. We offer safe, non-invasive treatments to remove bacteria from your gum line that’s causing infection.
We perform scaling and root planing procedures for those with mild to moderate gum disease, or we may use laser therapy to treat more severe cases of the disease. Both methods are done efficiently and with little to no pain here at our office. As long as you continue to maintain healthy gums with proper oral hygiene, you’ll be able to receive dental implants as well.
IV Sedation Certified Restorative Dentist
Dr. Henninger is one of only 5% of restorative dentists certified in IV sedation. IV sedation is safe, effective, and fast-acting, helping you get the dental care you need without fear, anxiety, or discomfort. Using IV sedation helps you stay calm in preparation for your procedure and reduces pain during and after your treatment.
Furthermore, IV sedation is an excellent option during complicated procedures such as bone grafting because it allows us to get more done in the same day. This means fewer visits to the dentist and faster, long-lasting results.
