Dental Implants

Dental Implants in London, ON

Replace missing teeth using artificial tooth roots and restore your smile.

While regular brushing, flossing, and checkups allow us to maintain our natural smiles for a lifetime, sometimes our teeth just can’t keep up. If you’ve lost one or more teeth due to injury or disease, it can affect your smile’s appearance as well as your oral health.

Fortunately, Alba Dental Center offers dental implants as a permanent solution for tooth loss. This revolutionary restoration can rejuvenate both your smile and oral health. Our dentists proudly offer their years of expertise to patients in London, ON as well as the surrounding areas including Strathroy, St. Thomas, and Ingersoll. Read on to learn more if dental implants are right for you.

What Are Dental Implants?

A dental implant is a synthetic tooth root in the shape of a post that’s surgically placed into the jawbone. The “root” is usually made of titanium which is a metal that’s well-suited to pairing with human bone — the same material used in many hip and knee replacements. A porcelain crown is then fixed to the post above the gum line and can either be permanently attached or removable.

Implants not only look more natural, feel, and act like normal teeth with stronger biting force, but they’re also a variety of options to address your unique situation:

If you’re only missing one tooth, a single-tooth implant will do the trick.
If you’re missing several teeth in a row, a few strategically placed implants can support a permanent bridge.
Similarly, if you’ve lost all of your teeth, a full bridge or full denture can be permanently fixed in your mouth with a strategic number of implants.

Benefits of Dental Implants

If you and your dentist decide on dental implants as the restorative solution for your needs, you’ll receive great benefits including:

A lifetime restoration
Customized for you
Natural-looking
Maintain facial shape
Restores your bite
Restores jawbone density
Restores eating and speaking ability

Dental Implant Process

Initial Consultation

During your consultation, one of our dentists will examine your oral health condition, review your medical history, and take X-rays and impressions of your mouth. We’ll also perform any necessary dental treatments to ensure the success of your implant. You can use this visit to ask any questions and concerns you may have. Our dentist will determine if dental implants are the solution for you and craft your personalized treatment plan to fit your individual needs.

Implant Placement

Before the procedure, your implant dentist will thoroughly clean your mouth before using a local anesthetic to numb the surgical site. We’ll also provide you with your sedation dentistry options if you choose. After ensuring you can’t feel anything, we’ll begin the procedure.

We’ll make a small incision to your gums and surgically place the implant post directly into your jawbone. You’ll be given a temporary cap to protect the implant site as you start your healing period. During this period, you’ll go through a process called osseointegration. For the next three to six months, the fixture will fuse with the bone to create a secure bond.

Completing the Restoration

After you’re healed, you’ll come back to our London, ON office to complete your restoration. Your dentist will remove the temporary cap and attach your permanent restoration that seamlessly blends with your natural teeth. You’ll leave our office with a brand new smile!

Implant Maintenance

Once your dental implant restoration is completed, it’s important to keep the area clean and infection-free. Dental implants can accumulate plaque and tartar just as teeth can. Biannual professional cleaning and checkups at our London, ON office will be necessary to keep your implants healthy. The time interval for these professional cleanings will be determined by your individual needs.

Ideal Candidate for Dental Implants

Dental implants are a permanent solution for patients who are missing any number of teeth. Your dental implant surgery’s success depends on your oral health, healing ability, and jawbone density. Therefore, to determine if you’re an ideal candidate for dental implants, your dentist will look for the following factors:

Non-smoker
Healthy gums
No signs of gum disease
Has good oral health
Has a sufficient amount of bone in the jaw
No medications or conditions that weaken the immune system

Implant Services

If your oral condition isn’t in good shape to receive a dental implant, you may still be eligible for implants with a supplemental procedure. We offer implant services to increase your candidacy chances and ensure a successful implant placement. Our services include:

Sinus Lift Augmentation

Often the sinuses will enlarge following the loss of the upper back teeth. This can preclude placement of the implants in the upper back areas of the mouth since the sinus is an air-filled space and the implants need to be surrounded by solid bone.

A sinus lift augmentation/graft is a surgical procedure that restores the sinus cavity to its original size and replaces the lost bone due to the enlarged sinus. This new bone graft typically takes nine to 12 months to heal before the dental implant can be placed into the grafted bone.

Autogenous Bone Grafting

Occasionally, the ideal areas for dental implants don’t have a sufficient bone quantity to support the implants. In these cases, bone grafting is necessary, this allows us to “borrow” bone from another area of your mouth and graft it into the deficient area. Often, the area of choice is from the chin or in the back of the jaw where your wisdom teeth used to be.

Implant Site Development

When a tooth needs to be removed due to infection, it’s common to have lost bone around the infected tooth. In these cases, various types of bone grafting can be done at the same time the tooth is removed to facilitate the placement of a dental implant at a later date.

Computer-Enhanced Treatment Planning

At Alba Dental Centre, we have special software on our computer that allows us to evaluate your dental CT scan in 3D for bone quality, bone quantity, and bone location, enabling the best possible placement of your dental implants. This also allows us to work closely and smoothly with your restorative dentist to ensure an ideal result where your dental implants are concerned.

All-on-4 Same-Day Teeth Replacement

Maintain optimal oral function and aesthetics with All-on-4 same-day teeth replacement. Using state-of-the-art technology, All-on-4 treatment replaces traditional dentures, which can be uncomfortable, inconvenient, and poorly fitted. All-on-4 turns problematic chewing and speaking into relics of the past.

Using only four dental implants to attach a full dental restoration, your dentist can give you the stable, functional, and cosmetic solution you’ve been looking for. Best of all, your dentures can be placed on the same day as your implant, so you don’t have to wait to get the restored smile you deserve.

There are many benefits when you choose All-on-4, including:

Allowing full-arch restoration with only four implants means your treatment and recovery time is greatly reduced.
Reducing the need for bone graft surgery while ensuring greater stability in the existing bone. It can even be used for patients who were told they don’t qualify for implants due to bone loss.
More comfortable than traditional dentures because they’re more secure and feel like natural teeth
No more worrying about your dentures slipping or falling out while you eat or speak
No need for denture adhesive

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do implants last?

Dental implants can last for a lifetime, while your dental crown can last for 15 years before needing replacement. To ensure its longevity, we recommend following the instructions:

Brush your teeth twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush
Floss daily
Rinse in between meals

Visit Alba Dental Centre biannually for professional cleanings and checkups

Can my regular dentist place a dental implant?

It can be possible, but it’s vital to find an implant dentist that has expertise in implant dentistry. This restorative solution requires a high degree of skills and experience, our dentists have extensive training in placing dental implants.

What are the advantages of dental implants over dentures or bridges?

Conventional bridges and dentures aren’t fixed to the bone, and can therefore be unstable. Making it difficult to eat or smile with confidence. On the other hand, implants look more natural and act more like normal teeth, with a stronger biting force. Additionally, they don’t directly rely on neighbouring teeth for support, implants don’t compromise the health of your natural teeth. In fact, bridges are only expected to last seven to 10 years, even less with root canals, whereas implants will typically last a lifetime.

Will my dental insurance cover the cost of the dental implant procedure?

Most insurance companies should be able to cover a portion of the procedure cost. We encourage you to speak with your insurance provider beforehand to learn more about your coverage plan. If the coverage isn’t enough, we offer affordable financing options to ease your worries.

Don’t Miss Out on a New Smile

Replacing a missing tooth can restore your smile back to its optimal health, function, and appearance. To see if you qualify for dental implants, call our London, ON office at (519) 777-2020 to schedule an appointment with one of our dentists. You can also request your appointment by clicking the “schedule now” button below.

We proudly offer services to patients in London, ON and the surrounding areas. We can’t wait to help you achieve your dream smile!

Explore All Services

Alba Dental Centre offers a complete range of dental care services. Try us out for yourself to see how we can help you feel more confident with your smile.