Dental Implants in San Diego, CA

Implants come in different lengths and thicknesses based on the location of the placement and/or the amount of bone in the area. All of this is carefully planned out ahead of time digitally in the CT/CAD/CAM software before placement. Implants can be used to replace single teeth, multiple teeth, or full arches depending on the needs of the patient.

Once the implant is placed, it needs anywhere from 10 weeks to 4 months to fuse to the jawbone. Once it has been integrated to the bone, it is ready for the crown to be scanned, designed, milled, and delivered.

Our office uses a very advanced and precise technique to ensure that the placement of the implant is exactly where it needs to be in the jaw bone.  This ensures the implants optimal success.

1. We use digitally CAD/CAM scans and overlay it on the CT scan so we can digitally design a custom fit surgical guide.  The surgical guide directs the drill in the exact optimal location to avoid any dangerous anatomical structures such as nerves or sinuses.  All of the planning leads to a very efficient placement of the implant.
2. Placement of the implant is a very quick procedure once the surgical guide has been designed and fabricated in-office.  The placement of a single implant usually takes less than 20 minutes under optimal conditions and no incisions are required.  This results in a lot less discomfort post-placement. Either a cover screw or a healing cap is screwed into the newly placed implant at this appointment which keeps the gums from filling into the implant and promotes quicker healing. 
3. A one week follow-up appointment is the next step to make sure there is no swelling and to make sure the healing abutment is still tightly sealing the implant.
4. 9-10 weeks later an X-ray and evaluation of the implant takes place.  If the implant is properly integrated, the healing abutment comes off and we place a scanpost into the implant so we can take digital impressions of the area.  This is when the crown is designed. The healing abutment goes back into the implant until the delivery appointment.
5. The crown and abutment is fitted and screwed into the implant.  We use a “screw-retained” technique which means that there is no cementing inside the mouth.  We do this for several reasons: a.) most implant failures are due to bacteria collecting around excess cement so we have taken this risk out of the equation and b.) we can easily access the implant and remove the crown if there is ever a problem with the crown due to fracturing etc.  This completes the implant process.

We have very great success with matching implant crowns to the perfect shade and shape of the existing teeth. Depending on the amount of bone, however, implants have to be placed in areas that aren’t exactly optimal. We still pride ourselves on being able to restore implants so that the patient looks, and feels as if the crown is a natural tooth.

Whenever we extract a tooth with the plans of placing an implant, we need to place bone graft material so that the bone doesn’t resorb. The bone graft material is used as a placeholder for new bone to fill in the socket area. Without a bone graft, there is a greater risk of not having enough bone for the implant placement. Sometimes implants are placed at the time of extraction, and that’s based on the surrounding structures. Bone graft material may still be used in these cases to ensure the implant has optimal healing potential.

1. More conservative restoration that doesn’t require the removal of healthy tooth structure on neighboring teeth.
2. Last longer than bridges which usually need to be replaced every 8-10 years so a long-term economical advantage.
3. More esthetic than bridges, especially in the anterior or front of the mouth.
4. Reduce bone loss around the neighboring teeth since there is no bone resorption once the implant heals
5. Oral hygiene is easier and better since it acts and feels like a normal tooth. You can use floss in between the implant crown and your tooth vs a bridge where food collects underneath the fake crown.