When it comes to replacing missing teeth, nothing does it better than dental implants. They are the only treatment that restores a tooth both above and below the gum line, delivering the most reliable, durable, and natural-looking results possible. Dr. Castleberry has trained extensively in the field of implant dentistry with both the International College of Oral Implantologists and the prestigious Misch International Implant Institute, making him the local expert that people trust. If you’re missing one, a few, or even all of your teeth, Dr. Castleberry can help you get your complete smile back. To get started, contact us today to discuss tooth replacement with dental implants in Louetta, TX.
Why Choose The Castleberry Center for Dental Implants?
Dental Implants Placed Entirely In-House
Advanced Dental Technology Available
Multiple Financing Options for All Budgets
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants consist of three crucial components in order to replace teeth. This includes the post (which acts as the root) the restoration (which can be either a crown, bridge, or denture,) and the abutment (which attaches them together.) The result is a tooth replacement that mimics nearly every part of your natural tooth and makes your smile complete. Whether you enjoy eating a wide variety of foods, want to make sure your long-term oral health is sufficiently protected, or have the confidence to smile, you’ll find dental implants to be the only treatment capable of providing all three for decades to come.
The 4-Step Dental Implant Process
Dental implants require a process that takes months to complete, but for good reason. They allow you to eat, speak, and laugh with complete confidence. In fact, dental implants are the closest you can get to your natural smile. Dr. Castleberry wants you to have the information you need to feel confident in your treatment before you begin. That’s why he has outlined the entire process from start to finish, ensuring that you know exactly how dental implants work in Louetta.
At The Castleberry Center, we are pleased to perform the entire dental implant placement and restoration in-house, so you can feel more comfortable throughout the process. Completing training at the Misch International Implant Institute and the International College of Oral Implantologists, Dr. Castleberry is an expert you can most certainly trust to rebuild and restore your smile.
Although every patient’s experience is different, there are four main steps that every patient must complete before enjoying their new and improved smile.
Initial Dental Implant Consultation
Dr. Castleberry will begin by reviewing your oral and overall health history to determine if you are eligible for dental implant treatment. After using advanced technology to examine your oral and facial structures, he will go over any necessary preliminary procedures you might need to prepare your smile for greater success when receiving dental implants near Vintage Park. These can include bone grafting, periodontal therapy, or tooth extractions. He will then create a personalized treatment plan that he will discuss with you that details the start-to-finish process as well as how much you can expect to pay for your new smile.
Dental Implant Surgery
As a dental implant expert in Harris County, Dr. Castleberry is pleased to perform the surgical and restorative components of your treatment. Everything is completed in-house, allowing you to feel more confident and comfortable throughout the entire process. Your implant dentist in Louetta will begin by administering local anesthesia to numb the areas before making small incisions in your gums and exposing the jawbone. Carefully, he will place and angle each implant before closing the gum tissue and placing a protective cap over the top of the implant.
Dental Implant Osseointegration/Abutment
Once you are sent home to recover, osseointegration will begin. This is the process of your dental implants in Louetta fusing with the bone and surrounding tissues. This can typically take between four and six months depending on how many implants will need to fuse. It may also be necessary to undergo a separate, minor oral surgery to receive your metal abutments. These are small connective pieces that attach to your implant and customized restoration. While healing at home, your customized restoration will be crafted based on your oral impressions.
Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations
After your restorations are created out of high-quality materials at a state-of-the-art dental lab, you’ll come into our office for the final stage of treatment, which is receiving your customized restoration. Dr. Castleberry will check to see if you’re absolutely happy with your crown, bridge, or denture before permanently attaching them to the abutments. Once placed, he will look over your new smile and show off your results. All that’s left to do is walk out of our office with a beautiful, confident, and strong set of teeth!
If you have any questions or want to schedule your initial consultation, please don’t hesitate to contact our office today!
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants come highly recommended by patients and professionals alike because they have countless benefits to offer that set them apart from other traditional tooth replacement treatments. Some of these unique advantages that you’ll be able to enjoy after restoring your smile with implants include:
98 percent success rate.
Lifespan of 35+ years with routine maintenance.
Preservation of facial structure.
Prevention of jawbone deterioration.
Enhanced chewing power.
No slipping or shifting restorations.
Easier to speak.
Natural looking and feeling.
Dr. Castleberry is a local implant specialist and expert who has undergone countless courses to perfect the dental implant process, which is also a benefit in and of itself! When you visit a trusted professional like him, you’ll be able to achieve ideal results.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
During your consultation, we’ll examine your mouth and let you know what type of dental implant restoration would be best to complete your smile. Whether you’re missing one or several of your pearly whites, there are a variety of different ways that we can rejuvenate your grin with this advanced procedure.
Missing One Tooth
For a single missing tooth, we can restore it using what is called an implant crown. This consists of an all-porcelain crown connected to the implant using something called an abutment, which is similar to a tiny screw. Once in place, the crown will completely blend into the smile and resemble a natural tooth in every way.
Missing Multiple Teeth
For patients missing a few teeth in a row, an implant crown can also be bonded to additional prosthetic teeth to replace them, forming an implant bridge.
Missing All Teeth
Sick and tired of your unreliable dentures? Dental implants can give you a set of teeth you can finally rely on. With implant dentures, the prosthetic teeth are anchored directly to the jawbone using multiple implants placed within the mouth. Compared to a traditional removable denture, implant dentures have a much more secure hold, the fit lasts for years, and it even helps restore more of a patient’s bite strength, enabling them to enjoy a more varied (and healthier) diet.
All-On-4
With this procedure, we can replace an entire row of missing teeth in just one appointment using only four dental implants. Once the implants are placed, they are immediately attached to a denture. With that, a patient will have a completely new smile! This treatment enables someone to literally wake up one morning with missing teeth and go to bed that night with a full smile. Typically, the only regret people have is that they didn’t come in to see us sooner!
Mini Dental Implants
Many patients with missing teeth have experienced bone loss in the jaw as a result, making them ineligible to get traditional implants (implant posts need a strong jawbone to stay in place). For these patients, mini dental implants now offer a viable alternative. Shorter and thinner than regular ones, they can still be used to secure a denture with a much better fit than a traditional overdenture. They can also be placed in restored in much less time due to their reduced size!
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
The cost of dental implants in Louetta varies from patient to patient and depends on numerous factors. While replacing one tooth may cost a few thousand dollars, full-mouth reconstruction may cost tens of thousands of dollars. Those numbers may seem steep at first, but it’s important to consider long-term value. Dental implants may last a lifetime, and they offer outstanding oral and overall health benefits. Over a few decades, they may actually be cheaper than some forms of non-implant tooth replacement.
Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery
It’s normal for patients to require one or more preliminary treatments, such as gum disease therapy or a bone graft, before they can receive dental implants in Louetta. Each of these services comes with its own price. The implant placement surgery has a separate cost, which depends on how many implants are being placed and the type of sedation that is used. Since we perform comprehensive implant treatment in-house, we can help you understand all the fees associated with your treatment. You will not have to worry about learning the pricing policies of an outside practice.
The Parts & Type of Your Dental Implant
Modern dentistry offers a wide variety of dental implant treatment options. Some require the use of just one or two implants, while others require four or more implants. There are also various implant manufacturers that create different types of implants. The products and techniques used during your procedure will have a bearing on your financial obligation.
Final Dental Implant Restoration
Implant restorations vary in price. Logically, a single crown to replace just one tooth costs less than a multi-unit bridge. There are also different types of implant dentures, including All-on-4 dentures, overdentures, and more. The size of your restoration, as well as the materials used to make it, will affect price. If more than one type of restoration might work for you, our team will explain the pros, cons, and cost of each option.
Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?
It is becoming more common for dental insurance to cover dental implants. However, many policies still do not cover them. Our team will help you figure out how your benefits apply to your treatment. Even if your insurance will not help you pay for the implants themselves, it might cover other parts of your treatment, such as your final restoration or your preliminary treatment.
Making Dental Implants Affordable
Your implant dentist in Louetta, Dr. Castleberry, wants to help you afford your new smile! That is why, in addition to assisting you with insurance, we will do whatever else we can to make your treatment affordable. For example, we accept several different types of financing, including CareCredit, GreenSky, Lending Club, and more. They all offer reasonable monthly payment plans. Most patients qualify for at least one of our financing options.
It’s not uncommon for our patients who have been missing teeth for a while before getting dental implants to need a bone graft before they can be considered good candidates for the procedure. In order for the implants to fuse with your jawbone, which is what allows them to offer so many benefits, it’s crucial for the bone to be strong and dense. If years go by where the area is no longer being stimulated by the roots of a tooth, it will begin to erode and weaken.
Our team will take X-ray images of your jawbone and facial structure to examine the area and whether it’s strong enough to support the implant posts. If it’s not, we’ll likely suggest a bone graft, which is a simple procedure where we’ll transplant bone to your jawbone from another area of your body. The cells in the new bone will seal themselves to the old one, providing your jawbone with essential support for your dental implants.
Dental Implant Failure & Salvage
Dental implants are consistently successful; they do well in more than 95% of cases. However, that does still leave a slight chance that something can go wrong. For example, an infection could damage the tissue around an implant. What should you do if you ever suspect that something is wrong with your prosthetic teeth? Call our team right away. We will examine your mouth, strive to determine the cause of the problem, and recommend your next steps. Our goal is to get your smile back in working order ASAP!
Are you a part of the millions of Americans who suffer from tooth loss? If so, you’re probably thinking about getting dental implants near Louetta Road. They’re an excellent method of tooth replacement that can give you a smile that looks, feels, and acts just like your old one. Of course, since the process is quite invasive, it’s completely normal to have a few concerns about it. To help you out, our team at The Castleberry Center has decided to answer some frequently asked questions below.
How Long Do Dental Implants Last?
Most patients can expect their dental implants to last well over three decades. However, their exact lifespan can vary significantly from patient to patient based on several factors. Practicing good oral hygiene, visiting Dr. Castleberry regularly, and kicking bad habits to the curb (i.e., smoking, biting fingernails, using teeth as tools) are a few steps you can take to help your implants last as long as possible.
Does Getting Dental Implants Hurt?
Before your dental implant procedure, Dr. Castleberry will numb your mouth with a local anesthetic to ensure you’re completely comfortable. You’ll also likely be sedated, which means your body’s ability to register pain will be much lower. Although the surgery itself shouldn’t hurt, you can expect your mouth to feel slightly sore for the next few days. The good news is you can easily manage your discomfort by taking over-the-counter pain medication and using cold compresses.
What Can Cause Dental Implants to Fail?
Dental implants usually fail for one of two reasons: peri-implantitis and failed osseointegration. Peri-implantitis is a type of gum disease that develops from poor oral hygiene, damaging the jawbone and soft tissue. Meanwhile, failed osseointegration is exactly as the name implies – when the implant fails to integrate with the jawbone successfully. A few other causes of dental implant failure include chronic teeth grinding, poor oral hygiene, certain medications, and health conditions like diabetes and cancer.
Will I Have to Take Off Work for Dental Implant Surgery?
In most cases, patients typically only need to take a day or two off work to get dental implants near Kohrville. Of course, every case is unique, meaning the exact amount of time you’ll need to take off will be based on your specific situation. If you work a physically demanding job, you should ideally take three to four days off. Strenuous exercise could divert blood from the implant site and delay healing.
Maintaining & Caring for Your Dental Implants
Dental implants are highly successful and can even last for the rest of your life. However, this is only if you care for them properly. If you aren’t taking the right steps to protect your implants from damage and infection, they can fail. Here are some simple precautions and healthy habits to implement to ensure your smile stays strong!
Make Oral Hygiene a Priority
Dental implants are unable to get cavities, but it’s still crucial that you practice excellent oral hygiene. If your surrounding teeth and gums are not healthy, your dental implant will be more likely to fail. By taking the time to brush and floss every day and rinsing with mouthwash, you can decrease your risk of getting cavities in your healthy teeth and developing gum disease.
Eat a Healthy Diet
After you get dental implants, you don’t need to limit the foods that you are eating, so you can enjoy a full and nutritious diet! However, eating too many foods that are hard, sticky, or sugary can cause issues. Stick to a diet that includes plenty of calcium and vitamin C to keep your jawbone strong and your gum tissue healthy.
Break Bad Habits
Bad dental habits can increase your risk of dental implant failure. You should refrain from smoking and using other tobacco products. Don’t use your teeth to bite or chew down on hard objects either. This can cause damage to your natural and replacement teeth.
Protect Your Dental Implants
Dental implants are very strong, but they are not indestructible. You should always wear a mouthguard when you are participating in sports. If you grind your teeth at night while you sleep, you may want to consider wearing a nightguard to prevent additional wear and tear.
Schedule Regular Dental Checkups
Continue to attend regular cleanings and checkups every six months. This way, we can thoroughly clean your smile and be on the lookout for changes that could indicate a problem with your implant or another issue in your mouth.
The Castleberry Center Family & Cosmetic Dentistry
