West Hollywood Dentist

One of the Most Trusted Holistic Dentists in Los Angeles, CA

7865 Santa Monica Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 654-2840

With A quarter century experience in dentistry, West Hollywood Holistic and Cosmetic Dentistry offers most dental treatments in one office. Call us today to schedule your free dental consultation.

Single Tooth Dental Implants – Los Angeles, CA

Single Tooth Dental Implants – Los Angeles, CA

If you’re just missing one tooth, a single implant with a crown can help you. This kind of implant can replace the missing tooth as well as its root.

What are the advantages of dental implants?

There are a lot of nice things about dental implants when compared to other tooth replacements. For one thing, they look and act just like regular teeth. They also stand on their own without any other tooth being affected, as in the case of a bridge. Bridges are cemented to neighboring teeth, which in turn means that the these adjacent teeth will have to be ground down to make space for and hold the bridge.

Another good thing about dental implants in comparison to bridges is that they replace the root of a tooth so the the bone won’t deteriorate around it. Patients with bridges will experience less bone growth, whereas patients with implants have healthier and stronger jaws and surrounding bones.

Dental implants are also the more aesthetic option due to the increased bone strength surrounding them. Bridges will eventually start to show signs of their deterioration, especially after gumlines recede around them and expose the metal collar holding them. Surrounding teeth are also put at risk of decay once the cement that holds the bridge together starts to wash out. Dental implants have none of these problems.

How are dental implants placed?

Now that you’re convinced that dental implants are a superior option for tooth replacement, you might wonder what the process of placing them looks like. It’s fairly simple. It begins with the implant itself, which is basically a screw in your jaw. At this point, your jaw will need some time to heal, as part of the implant process is allowing bone to grow around the implant, integrating it into your bone structure. You can wear a temporary tooth over the screw for the initial two to six weeks.

Sometimes, after the healing process, your implant will have been covered by gum. As a result, it will have to be uncovered and extended so that the crown will have something to attach to. Your gums will need to heal for a few weeks following this part of the procedure. There are certain one-stage systems that don’t call for the previous step, however. One-stage systems are placed with the extension already attached to the screw.

After all of this, your dentist will make a crown and place it on the rest of the hardware via an abutment. Once this is done, you should be able to talk and eat naturally. You’ll hardly be able to tell you were missing a tooth in the first place. Enjoy your new smile!

The cost of a dental implant at our office is $3500, a $5000 value. You can call or drop by to schedule an examination to see if dental implants are right for you. Our expert staff will guide you through the process in person and answer all of your questions.

Share:
Skip to content