If you have suffered tooth loss—whether you have lost a single tooth or need a full mouth restoration—Dr. Spalitto and his team at West County Dental are here to help you explore your treatment options. Dental implants are one way people are reclaiming their beautiful smiles after losing teeth. If you are considering dental implants in St. Louis , here is a look at two possible approaches to the procedure.

3-Stage Dental Implants
With three-stage dental implants, your dentist first places a post into your jaw that will act as support for your implant and mimic a natural tooth root. After the post is placed, it is allowed to fuse with your bone in a process called osseointegration. This ensures that the implant is stable and acts like a natural tooth. After osseointegration is complete, your dentist will expose the post through a small incision in your gums and attach an abutment, which will serve as a bridge between the crown and the post of your implant. In some cases, a crown is attached to the abutment at this time. In other cases, your gum tissue is allowed to heal around the abutment before a crown is attached. The entire procedure takes three to six months.

1-Stage Dental Implants
For some patients, it is possible to get dental implants in one day. Using keyhole surgery, your dentist can place the entire implant and crown in one procedure. Because the implant is placed using keyhole surgery, there is less disruption of the soft tissue, which can decrease the healing time and any post-procedure discomfort. One-stage implants are not right for every patient. Dr. Spalitto will determine which approach is right for you based on a number of factors, including the health of your jaw, your preferences, and how many teeth you are having replaced.

To find out if dental implants are right for you, call West County Dental at (314) 821-2712 to schedule a consultation. In addition to dental implants, our family dentistry practice offers a range of services, from tooth extraction to treatment for gum disease.

Having a healthy smile is important for your overall health. While taking care of your oral health is always important no matter your age, it becomes vital as you get older. Working with Dr. Spalitto, who practices family dentistry in St. Louis , can help you maintain great oral health as you age. Here are some of the top dental health concerns for senior citizens.

Periodontal Disease
People over the age of 60 are at higher risk for periodontal disease than people of a younger age. Periodontal disease can cause red, inflamed, and bleeding gums, and also tooth loss in severe cases. About a quarter of adults ages 65-74 have had a diagnosis of severe periodontal disease. Men, more so than women, are at risk for a severe diagnosis. Regular visits to Dr. Spalitto’s family dentistry clinic in St. Louis can help you keep your gums healthy as you age.

Decay
Just as with periodontal disease, your risk of tooth decay increases with age. In particular, those who did not have access to fluoride in their water growing up are diagnosed more often with issues of decay. One quarter of adults in America over the age of 60 no longer have their adult teeth. Older people will continue to have decay on the crowns of their teeth and on the tooth roots, unless they have been removed during a root canal procedure. Adults over the age of 60 see tooth decay more so than children. Having missing teeth due to severe decay can cause pain when chewing food and it can become difficult to speak properly, not to mention can make you feel insecure about your smile.

Cancers
Oral and pharyngeal cancers are a very real risk for people over the age of 60. Over 30,000 people a year are diagnosed with these types of cancer and many of them are above 60 years old.

Insurance
Being that dental insurance is not covered under most health insurance policies, many adults over the age of 60 are not covered. Medicare, which gives people over the age of 65 health insurance, does not cover dental work either. If you are over 60 and need dental work, Dr. Spalitto and his team at West County Dental would love to talk with you to see how he can help you gain a healthy, beautiful smile with affordable financing options.

You may think a missing tooth is no big deal; the reality of the situation, however, is that you may experience several consequences if you do not have it replaced by your dentist in a timely fashion. Fortunately, Dr. Spalitto, a dentist in St. Louis , has a great deal of experience in restorative dentistry and is happy to help by placing a dental implant. Continue reading if you would like to learn about the benefits and process involved in a single tooth replacement.

Whether you are missing all of your teeth, some of your teeth, or just one of your teeth, replacement is important. Replacing a missing tooth allows healthy neighboring teeth to stay in the right position rather than shifting into the newly opened gap. It also helps your jaw retain bone mass. Dental implant placement is a common dental procedure that aims to replace your natural tooth with a similar prosthetic one, root and all. After your dentist installs the implant into your jaw, he will cover it with a dental crown so you can enjoy an efficient replacement tooth.

Compared to other options for restoring missing or damaged teeth, dental implants in West County of St. Louis are often the first choice among dentists and dental patients. While other tooth restoration options can interfere with eating, smiling, and speaking, dental implants function like natural teeth. With proper care, dental implants can also last more than 10 years, so they offer a long-term solution to maintaining oral health. Here’s a closer look at the benefits of dental implants.

Protect Healthy Bone

If you have lost one or more permanent teeth, leaving the empty spaces in your mouth can lead to additional health issues, including gum disease. In addition, you will no longer be using your jawbone in the affected area to support your natural teeth. As a result, the jawbone will begin to lose its strength and firmness. Dental implants actually preserve and stimulate the natural bone, which can help prevent loss of the jawbone.

Alleviate Anxiety

Your dentist’s office likely offers a range of tooth restoration options , including dentures. While dentures can effectively replace your missing teeth, you may find that you worry about them slipping. With dental implants, your tooth restorations stay permanently in your mouth just like natural teeth. This means you can brush, floss, and care for the implants in the same exact way you would care for your natural teeth.

Lower Cavity Risk

Dental implants may look like your natural teeth, but they can’t develop cavities like your natural teeth. However, you will still need to visit your family dentist regularly and care for your gums every day to help prevent other oral health issues.

Protect Healthy Teeth

In order to place a bridge in your mouth, your dentist will need to grind away the adjacent teeth. This process ends up damaging your healthy teeth in order to restore your missing teeth. The bridge is then attached to your modified healthy teeth for support. Dental implants, on the other hand, are placed directly into the jawbone without impacting the neighboring healthy teeth. Once in place, the implant helps prevent your healthy teeth from shifting into the empty gum space.

Dentures are unstable and uncomfortable. Dental implants provide the perfect alternative! If you are missing one or more teeth, dental implants can provide a permanent replacement that looks and feels natural. Your St. Louis periodontist can help you learn more about the advantages of choosing dental implants, including being able to eat whatever you want and feel more comfortable while speaking.

If you choose to get dental implants, it is important to learn how to properly care for them. Your implants will look and feel just like natural teeth and it is important to take care of them the same way you take care of your natural teeth. This means regular brushing and flossing to reduce infection or inflammation risk around the implant site. It is also important to visit your periodontist regularly to make sure your dental implants are in good shape and your dental health routine is working properly! These tips can help you take care of your dental implants to maintain a beautiful and healthy smile.

Whenever possible, a dentist will do everything he or she can to save a patient’s natural teeth. Sometimes losing on or more teeth is unavoidable, though. Thanks to new advancements in dental technology like same-day dental implants and dentures, patients now have more access to quality replacement teeth than ever before. Keep reading to find out why you should consider replacing these missing teeth:

New Teeth Increase the Function of the Mouth

Even missing one tooth can mess up the overall function of your bite. If you want to restore function to your mouth to make it easier to talk and to chew, you should consider replacement teeth solutions like same-day dental implants or dentures. These new teeth can work together with your natural teeth to restore the function of your bite.

New Teeth Help You Maintain Your Original Facial Structure

Over time, missing teeth might start to change the shape of your face. If you do not want your cheeks to sink in around the areas where you are missing teeth, it is important to look into some replacement options. Talk to your oral surgeon in St. Louis about your missing teeth and which replacement option will do the most for you to help you maintain your facial structure.

New Teeth Restore the Aesthetics of Your Smile

Even one missing tooth could have a negative impact on the aesthetics of your smile. If you are embarrassed about showing off your teeth, it might be time to think about replacement options like same-day dental implants. Your dentist can match the dental crowns to the color of your teeth to help you get a smile of which you can be proud.

New Teeth Help Surrounding Teeth

When you lose teeth, the surrounding teeth could start to suffer. Huge pockets in your gums create a lot of space in which plaque and bacteria could develop. If you do not get replacement teeth, this leaves your surrounding teeth and gums susceptible to decay and periodontal disease.

If you are missing one tooth, your St. Louis dentist can use an all-ceramic crown on a dental implant to instantly restore the look and feel of your natural smile.

These implants serve as both a root and a replacement tooth to help you get the optimal function for your mouth. Unlike traditional dental implants, though, this option is put in as a single unit so you can get fast results, a reduced treatment time, and less pain. With the proper care, these all-ceramic crowns on dental implants provide lifelong results.

This kind of dental implant procedure takes much less time to heal, which allows you to return to your normal activities shortly after you get the treatment. The dentist will install the implant and attach the new dental crown as soon as the implant fuses with the jawbone. You can expect natural-looking results that help you restore normal mouth functions.

Whether you have a single missing tooth or need to replace several teeth, dental implants can be a great alternative to dentures. Your dentist roots dental implants into your jaw using a structure that functions like a tooth root, to create a natural result that doesn’t slip or require special care like dentures. Talk to your dentist serving St. Louis about whether dental implants are the right tooth restoration method for you. Here’s an overview of what you need to know about dental implants.

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are artificial teeth. They consist of a post that is placed into your jaw to mimic a tooth root, an abutment, and a crown. The abutment is screwed onto the post and acts as an anchor for the crown. Dentists can craft the crown to closely match the shape and color of your remaining teeth for a natural appearance.

What Are the Benefits of Dental Implants?

For patients, dental implants provide a long list of benefits over other tooth restoration methods. Because implants are placed directly into the jaw, there is no risk of a poor fit or slippage, as may occur with dentures. Dental implants don’t require any special care and can be brushed and flossed like your natural teeth. Because implants don’t rely on neighboring teeth for support, as bridges do, they don’t damage healthy teeth.

What Are Same Day Dental Implants?

Getting dental implants used to require multiple appointments and take six months or longer. With same-day dental implants, your dentist can complete the entire procedure in a single office visit, which saves you both time and money. Same-day dental implants offer the same great benefits as traditional implants in a fraction of the time, meaning you could be one dentist visit away from restoring your beautiful smile.