implant restorations

Complete Your Implant

Dental Implant Restorations in Simpsonville

If you are suffering from the loss of one or multiple teeth, dental implants offer a permanent solution. The implant itself is a small piece of titanium, which is surgically implanted into your mouth by a Periodontist and is designed to mimic your natural tooth root.

Once your implant heals, Dr. Cash will design a custom implant-supported restoration that will look and feel just like a natural part of your smile. If you are considering implant surgery in Simpsonville, or you are in need of a high-quality implant restoration, call today to schedule a consultation!

BEFORE & AFTER

a Fully transformed smile

missing tooth after implantbefore and after treatment

Before

After

What To Expect

The Implant Restoration Process

The implant restoration process begins after you’ve had your implant placed by a Periodontist. Your implant must heal for about 3-6 months before your implant-supported restoration can be placed; this healing period gives your implant time to bond with your natural bone and gum tissue. As you heal, Dr. Cash will work closely with a dental lab to begin creating your custom implant restoration, whether you will be receiving a crown, permanent dental bridge, or a set of implant-supported dentures.

Unique Advantages

Benefits of Dental Implants

Restoring your smile with a dental implant is a great long-term option if you’re missing one or more teeth. Dental implants help strengthen and protect your jaw, and they also help prevent common post-tooth loss issues such as teeth shifting towards the empty socket.

Dental implants also have cosmetic benefits. They look and feel completely natural, and they can last a lifetime with proper care, giving you a confident smile for years. If you’re missing one or more teeth and you’re looking for a permanent solution, call us today to schedule a consultation!

Dental Implant graphic

Know Your Options

Am I a Candidate for Implants?

Good candidates for dental implants will have a healthy jaw and strong gum tissue to support the treatment, and you must have a good overall level of oral health. If you would like to learn more about whether an implant-supported restoration is right for you, schedule an appointment with Dr. Cash at our office in Simpsonville. Our office is located at 117 Batesville Road Suite 202, Simpsonville, SC 29681. During your appointment, she will examine your mouth and discuss all of your options for restoring your smile. If implants are a good option for you, Dr. Cash will work with a Periodontist to ensure precise placement of your dental implant for an ideal restoration.

HOW DO I KNOW

If My Implant Is Failing? 

It’s very rare for the dental implant to fail. The metal post placed in your jaw and gum tissue is very unlikely to loosen or fail unless it doesn’t heal properly. So, in most cases, a “failing implant” is just a failing dental implant restoration. 

If you notice the crown or other restoration attached to your implant is damaged, loose, or otherwise doesn’t look or feel right, you should come and see Dr. Cash right away. She will take a look at the implant restoration and see if it’s damaged. If the damage is minor such as a crown coming loose, she may be able to repair it and leave the original restoration in place.

However, if your implant restoration is worn out, she will have to make a new one. This process is quick, easy, and non-invasive. Using our iTero digital scanner, the dentists in Simpsonville will scan your mouth and your implant. 

Then, we’ll send this information to a lab where your implant restoration will be made. Once the restoration is sent back to our office, you’ll come back to have it placed on your dental implant, completing the replacement procedure.

How long do

dental implants Last?

The metal implant that’s surgically placed into your gums and jaw will never fail as long as it heals properly, and you take good care of your oral health after your treatment. More than 90% of people still have their original implant post after 30+ years. This makes dental implants the best way to permanently restore your smile.

However, dental implant restorations don’t last as long. This makes sense, because like natural teeth, restorations are exposed to lots of stress from biting and chewing. Over time, the restorations may loosen, crack, break, or otherwise fail. In most cases, a dental implant restoration will last 10-15 years. During your six-month appointments at our dental office in Simpsonville, Dr. Cash will check your restorations to make sure they’re in great shape.

How Do I properly Care

for dental implants?

Caring for dental implants is actually very simple, especially for single-tooth implants that use one implant “post” and a dental crown to replace your missing tooth. You can treat single-tooth implants just like a real tooth. Brush and floss the area regularly, maintain a healthy diet, and take other steps to improve your oral health, like quitting smoking and seeing Dr. Cash for a teeth cleaning and oral exam every six months. That’s it!

If you have a more complex dental implant restoration like an implant-supported bridge or implant-supported dentures, you’ll need to take some additional steps to clean the implants and the restoration. For bridges, for example, you will need to use a special brush and a water flosser to clean between the bridge and your gums.

Overall, caring for any type of dental implant restoration is quite easy and convenient. Dr. Cash will provide you with more care instructions after your treatment, and help you understand all the steps you’ll need to take to keep your implant and restorations in great shape.

How Often Do I Need a

New Implant Restoration?

The implant itself is biocompatible and extremely durable, so it’s fabricated to last for a lifetime. The minimum lifespan of a dental implant is 25 years but most people never experience implant failure or need to replace their implant. 

That being said, the restoration that is attached, whether that be a dental crown, bridge, or denture, does need to be replaced. This is only a temporary restoration that is attached to the implant and will require continual replacement because it is not durable enough to withstand chewing force, grinding, and other wear and tear over a lifetime. 

This is especially the case because tooth-colored prostheses like crowns, bridges, and dentures are created out of more fragile but aesthetic materials to create the illusion of real teeth. A dental crown will last for about 10 to 15 years Removable dentures also tend to last about 10 years and fixed bridges last a little longer, with a lifespan of up to 20 years.

You can extend the lifespan of your restoration by practicing good oral hygiene, avoiding smoking, limiting your consumption of hard and sticky foods, attending regular dental appointments every 6 months, and avoiding using your teeth as tools. 

You should also limit your exposure to staining foods and drinks or sip through a straw because the restoration can become discolored over time and does not respond to teeth whitening.

How Long Does it Take to

Recover From Dental Implants?

There are a few different factors to take into consideration here. The first is how many implants you have received, whether or not you required bone grafting procedures to support the implants and individual differences in healing and oral hygiene.

Recovering from the two oral surgeries themselves (the placement of the implant and the reopening of the gums to attach the abutment) which are spaced months apart can take anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks. 

Someone who has received a single dental implant, who has sufficient and healthy bone support, is generally very healthy, and follows aftercare instructions may only take 1 to 2 days to heal from each oral surgery. 

In contrast, someone who is receiving a series of implants to support an entire arch of teeth and who needed bone grafts to create sufficient bone support may need a couple of weeks to heal from these oral surgeries.

While recovering from the oral surgery itself is quite fast, you will also need 3 to 6 months for osseointegration to occur in between the two oral surgeries. This is the process of the implant fusing with the jawbone and this needs to occur successfully to avoid implant failure. 

It’s important to carefully follow your dentist’s instructions during your recovery and to maintain proper oral hygiene by regularly brushing, flossing, and rinsing your mouth with salt water rinses.

Will Dental Implants

Stop Bone Loss?

Yes, dental implants prevent bone loss by restoring the tooth’s root through osseointegration. When the implant integrates with the jawbone over 3 to 6 months, an artificial tooth root is formed which transmits chewing forces to the jawbone. 

This stimulation regenerates cells that are necessary to preserve the jawbone. Patients who lose a tooth suffer from bone resorption because the loss of a tooth means the loss of the tooth root. Without this root, the jawbone no longer receives the necessary stimulation needed to regenerate cells, which results in irreversible bone loss. 

A dental implant will prevent bone loss and strengthen your jawbone while providing a stable basis for your restoration so you never need to worry about the consequences of bone loss or a shifting tooth.

High Quality Implant Restorations