Dental Impants
state-of-the-art replacement
First-Time Patient?
Fill out Registration Paperwork and bring into your first visit with us.
When you have a dental injury or infection, saving your natural tooth should always be your first choice. Even the most advanced implants or bridges cannot truly replace your natural tooth. For this reason, if you are experiencing dental pain or discomfort you should speak with your dentist or endodontist (Dr. Lee Van Carroll) as soon as possible to discuss your options.
If your dentist recommends extracting your tooth, ask whether an endodontist can help save the tooth with root canal treatment. This procedure involves removing the injured pulp (soft inner tissue) of your tooth, then filling and sealing the space.
A dentist finishes the process by restoring your tooth with a crown or filling, enabling it to function as your natural teeth do, ensuring comfortable chewing and a natural appearance.
Dr. Lee Van Carroll can often save even the most severely injured teeth, so it pays to learn more about your treatment options. Do everything possible to save your teeth before considering extraction – always the last resort!
If an endodontic procedure can’t save your tooth and it must be extracted, you should consider a dental implant that will enable you to bite and chew properly, keep healthy teeth from shifting, and help you maintain a natural appearance. Carefully discuss your options for treatment with your dental team to ensure you pick the treatment that is best for your overall health.
Dental Implant Resources
The introduction of implants to dentistry has generated much discussion among dentists and the public. Dental implants are made up of titanium and other materials that are compatible with the human body. They are posts that are surgically placed in the jaw, where they function as a sturdy anchor for replacement teeth. Several factors, including tooth location, quality of supporting bone, periodontal status, restorability and systemic factors weigh heavily on the decision to treat a tooth with root canal treatment or to extract and replace the tooth with an implant.
The following conclusions are from the AAE’s Position Statement on Implants:
- Clinical treatment decisions regarding endodontic or implant therapy must always be made in the best interest of the patient.
- These treatment decisions should always be based on the best, most current evidence.
- The decision to treat a tooth endodontically or replace it with an implant must be based on factors other than treatment outcomes.
- Practitioners are ethically bound to inform patients of all reasonable treatment options.
- The standard of care must be applied equally to all practitioners, generalist and specialist alike. Due consideration should be given to patient referral for the evaluation and advice of specialists in retaining natural teeth.
- Endodontic treatment is a most predictable procedure when the clinician accomplishes correct diagnosis, appropriate treatment planning, thorough instrumentation, complete obturation with coronal restoration, and compassionate and effective care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Root canal treatment, retreatment, or endodontic surgery may all be ways to help you save your tooth. Sometimes, however, a tooth cannot be saved and will need to be extracted and replaced with a prosthetic, or artificial, tooth.
What are the alternatives to endodontic treatment?
What’s involved in placing an implant?
The way implants are placed depends on the patient, the type of implant and the tooth being replaced. Some implants can be fully placed in one day. Most implants involve two or three steps. First, the implant is placed into the jaw and the gum is secured over the implant. Over the next three to six months the implant will fuse with the jaw bone. Once the implant and bone have bonded together, the dentist or specialist may attach an extension, called an abutment, to the implant. In some cases, the implant and abutment are a single unit placed during the initial surgery. In others, a second surgery may be needed to attach the abutment to the replacement teeth. Once healed, the implant and abutment act as the foundation for the new tooth. In the final step, the dentist or specialist makes a crown in the right size, shape, and color to match your natural teeth. The crown is attached to the implant post.
Dental implants provide a good alternative for the natural tooth when it must be extracted. Candidates for implants should have good general and oral health, adequate bone support in the jaw and healthy gum tissues. Chronic illnesses, such as diabetes or leukemia, may interfere with healing after surgery and prevent successful placement of an implant. Other risk factors for implant placement can include smoking, poor bone quality, long-term use of bisphosphonate medications and low estrogen levels.
Replacing a missing or diseased tooth with an implant has several advantages:
- Natural appearance
- Don’t require dental procedures on neighboring teeth
- Reliable
Though nothing looks, feels or functions exactly like your natural tooth, dental implants are a viable alternative to help you maintain a beautiful smile.
How do I make a choice?
Ultimately, your treatment decision should be based on a strategy you have discussed with your dental team (your dentist, endodontist and/or other specialists), and that you agree is best for your overall health.
What is a dental implant?
Are there any other options?
Who performs the procedures?
Endodontists are dentists with special training in endodontic procedures. They focus on endodontics in their practices because they are specialists. To become specialists, they complete dental school and an additional two or more years of advanced training in endodontics. They perform routine as well as difficult and very complex endodontic procedures, including endodontic surgery. Many endodontists have also received additional training in the placement of dental implants and can perform this procedure for patients whose teeth cannot be saved.
Your dentist may have referred you to an endodontic specialist because of a personal concern about your medical conditions, treatment preferences, pain tolerance and/or the overall high quality of your dental care. The endodontist is a valuable partner on your general dentist’s team of trusted caregivers and is no different than medical specialists who provide expert advice for heart, bone or other health problems. Endodontists are uniquely qualified to evaluate whether your tooth can be saved, and which option is best for you.
Information from AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ENDODONTISTS.
