Dental Implants – Raleigh, NC
Replacement Teeth That Look, Function, & Feel Natural
The American Academy of Prosthodontists estimates that 178 million people are missing at least one tooth, while nearly 40 million are missing all of their teeth. At Dalton Hunt Dentistry, we can enhance your prosthetics by supporting them with dental implants in Raleigh. This versatile, modern treatment can help patients with one, several, or an entire row of missing teeth restore the complete function and appearance of their natural smile. Learn whether you are a candidate by scheduling a consultation with Dr. Hunt today!
Why Choose Dalton Hunt Dentistry for Dental Implants?
- Start-to-Finish Dental Implant Treatment
- Compassionate & Kind Dental Team
- Precise Planning with Our Cone Beam CT Scanner
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are small screw-like posts that we can surgically insert into the jawbone to replace the missing roots of teeth. They’re made from a biocompatible metal, titanium, that is able to naturally fuse with the jawbone through osseointegration after they are surgically placed.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
With a success rate of over 95% and the potential to last a lifetime, it’s easy to see why dental implants are considered the gold standard of tooth replacement. However, the treatment process does involve oral surgery and can take several months to a year or more. Despite the time commitment, the long-term stability and durability of your new teeth make the wait worthwhile. While each patient’s experience is unique, here’s an overview of how dental implants work in Raleigh.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
The first step in every dental implant journey is a consultation with Dr. Hunt. During this visit, she will ask you about your goals and complete a thorough examination of your mouth to determine whether you will be a good candidate for the procedure. Then, she will put together a treatment plan so you know what the process will look like.
Dental Implant Surgery
At Dalton Hunt Dentistry, we perform dental implant surgery in-house, so you can stay with the same trusted team throughout your entire treatment. This ensures a seamless experience and personalized attention at every step. During the procedure, we’ll numb the area and may offer sedation for added comfort. Next, a small incision is made in the gums to place the implant posts securely into the jawbone. Afterward, the gums are closed, and protective caps are placed over the posts to promote healing. This approach allows for efficient, cohesive care from start to finish.
Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement
After your implant surgery, the crucial healing period begins, during which osseointegration occurs. This process involves the implants fusing with your jawbone, creating a stable foundation for your new teeth. Osseointegration is essential for the long-term success of your implants and typically takes several months.
Once complete, you’ll return to our office for a minor procedure where we’ll place abutments (small metal connector pieces) on top of the implants. While you heal from this step over the next few weeks, we’ll craft your final restoration using precise impressions of your mouth, ensuring a perfect fit and natural appearance.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
Finally, you’ll return to our office for the exciting step of placing your dental implant restoration. Depending on your needs, this could be a crown, bridge, or denture. We’ll carefully attach your replacement teeth to the implants and ensure a precise fit. After verifying that your bite is perfectly aligned, you’ll be ready to enjoy the full benefits of your newly restored smile. This final step not only completes your dental implant journey but also gives you the confidence to eat, speak, and smile with ease!
Benefits of Dental Implants
One of the reasons why dental implants in Raleigh are so popular is because they offer a wide range of benefits that allow patients to feel like they have their natural smile back. These include restorations that will never slip or shift, restoring up to 80 percent of the original bite force, and replacement teeth that look and feel like the real thing. Here’s a brief guide to how dental implants from our Raleigh office can improve your life.
Day-to-Day Benefits
Dental implants deliver a variety of benefits you may notice in your everyday life such as:
- Allowing patients to chew any foods they could enjoy with real teeth such as juicy steaks, crunchy nuts, and raw, snappy fruits and veggies
- Requiring only an easy daily hygiene regimen of brushing, flossing, and rinsing with antibacterial mouthwash, meaning that patients don’t have to worry about the elaborate and time-consuming cleaning rituals required by other prosthetic appliances
- Improving a patient’s confidence so they can smile proudly at friends, family, and strangers
- Holding their place securely in the mouth so that patients can chew and speak confidently without worrying about their appliances causing embarrassment by slipping or falling out
Health Benefits
Dental implants can also help preserve a patient’s oral and overall health in ways such as:
- Since they are incredibly easy to clean, dental implants can help prevent destructive oral infections like tooth decay and gum disease.
- By restoring almost all the mouth’s natural chewing power, dental implants can allow a patient to enjoy a diverse and nutritious diet so they can keep their body healthy and avoid issues like indigestion or malnutrition.
- Because they are securely anchored in the jawbone, dental implants will not cause dental damage or gum irritation by sliding about in the mouth.
- By providing the bone structure supporting them with exercise during the chewing process, dental implants can prevent or reverse the process of bone loss in the jaw.
Long-Term Benefits
Dental implants also deliver a wealth of long-term benefits like:
- Lasting for as long as thirty years or even a lifetime if they receive proper hygiene and maintenance
- Boasting a success rate of over 95% even after ten years since being placed, making them a smart investment in your confidence as well as your oral and overall health
- Potentially saving a patient thousands of dollars over the years since implants won’t require costly periodic replacements like other tooth replacement options
- Giving you the beautifully complete smile you need to make an excellent first impression at work or in the social scene, which can make it much easier to close sales, win friends, get a new job, or win a juicy promotion at work.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Dental implants are an excellent tooth replacement solution for many patients, as they are able to fill gaps left by one, several, or an entire row of missing teeth. At your consultation, Dr. Hunt and our team will help determine whether your situation is a good fit for this treatment. It is important that you have a healthy smile and adequate jawbone to support the implants, but if you do not currently possess these traits, we can help you get there with preliminary treatments.
Missing One Tooth
For a single missing tooth, Dr. Hunt can secure one dental implant in the gap within the smile below the gumline. Once it has healed and fused with the jawbone, our team can secure a free-standing dental crown to it, completing your arch.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Instead of needing to alter your surrounding teeth to support a traditional dental bridge, we can secure the restoration to two dental implants placed at either side of the gap in your arch. These will secure the bridge in place, filling that space left between two or more consecutive missing teeth.
Missing All of Your Teeth
Instead of investing in traditional dentures that can slip and shift within the mouth when you eat or speak, you can get implant dentures. This treatment involves securing your prosthetic to anywhere between four and eight dental implants below the gumline.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
Every dental implant treatment that we complete here at Dalton Hunt Dentistry is custom-tailored to meet patients’ unique needs. For that reason, there is no singular price tag attached to this service. This is largely due to your individual needs. For example, one patient may not require preliminary procedures and need to restore an entire arch of teeth, while another may need a bone graft and only to replace one tooth. That is why, at your consultation, our team will provide you with a detailed cost estimate, along with your payment options, so you know what to expect financially moving forward.