Dental Implants – Hanford, CA

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

The first step of every dental implant treatment is an in-depth consultation with our team at Hanford Family Dental Center. One of our implant dentists will examine your mouth, ask about your medical and oral health history, and help you determine whether this is the right treatment for you. We’ll develop a detailed treatment plan that we’ll walk you through as well, allowing you to get a better understanding of what to expect moving forward.

Dental Implant Surgery

After you consent to move forward with our treatment plan, we’ll schedule your dental implant placement. Our team of professionals has completed extensive continuing education and specialty training, allowing us to complete the entire treatment from beginning to end under one, convenient roof.

During your surgery, we’ll start by creating small incisions in the gums to access your jawbone. Then, we’ll drill tiny holes into your bone for the placement of your implant posts. Once those are inserted, we’ll stitch the holes closed, and the healing process commences.

Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement

The following months after your surgery, it’ll be important to rest and allow your implants to fuse with the jawbone via a natural biological process called osseointegration. Once this is complete, our team will call you back into our office to attach small, metal connector pieces to your implants, called abutments. It typically takes about two weeks for the gum tissue to heal around the abutment, creating a natural-looking gumline while also keeping harmful bacteria out.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations

While you’re recovering from your procedure, our trusted dental laboratory will be hard at work creating your final bridge, crown, or denture. These restorations are usually made of all-ceramic materials to mimic the natural look and feel of your old teeth. Once it’s been crafted to match your exact specifications, it’ll be attached to your abutments to complete your smile! The abutments will anchor your final prosthetic in place, preventing it from slipping around your mouth  

Day-to-Day Benefits

Dental implants feel just like natural teeth do, so you shouldn’t notice them much in your daily life. Here are some of the exciting advantages that dental implants have to offer:

• Bite Force: Your bite force can be restored anywhere from 80-100%! This is much more than what you can expect from dental bridges or dentures.
• Easy Maintenance: Caring for dental implants is just like caring for your natural teeth. Brush twice, floss, and use mouthwash every day.
• Increased Confidence: You don’t have to worry about visible gaps in your smile or a poor-fitting restoration.

Health Benefits

In addition to the benefits that you can experience daily, your health will also be positively influenced when you replace your missing teeth. Here are some benefits you can enjoy:

• Dental Health: Replacing your missing teeth with dental implants puts you at a lower risk of gum disease, infection, and additional tooth loss. None of your natural teeth need to be altered for this restoration either.
• Better Overall Health: Having excellent dental health has a positive influence on your overall health. It even lowers your risk of serious medical issues, including diabetes and heart disease.
• Prevents Bone Loss: When you’re missing teeth, jawbone deterioration follows. Dental implants stimulate the jawbone just like tooth roots, keeping it strong.

Long-Term Benefits

When you choose dental implants, you are investing in the future of your smile. Here are some of the exciting benefits you can experience for the rest of your life:

• Successful: Dental implants have an amazing success rate of over 95%! The chances of your implant failing are very slim.
• Permanent: Dental implants are made to be permanent. You can enjoy them for multiple decades or even the rest of your life.
• Save Money: You don’t have to worry about stocking up on adhesives or soaking solutions. You also don’t need to pay for frequent repairs or replacements. Dental implants also reduce your risk of many oral health issues, saving you time, discomfort, and money.

Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery

There's no flat fee for dental implants because every treatment plan is unique. Therefore, several things will affect the amount you'll pay. Your estimate will include your consultation, diagnostic services, and any imaging, like a CT scan. It's not unusual to require a little prep work before your placement surgery, like tooth extractions or gum disease therapy. Once your mouth is healthy, sedation or anesthesia will be used during your placement surgery to keep you comfortable as a titanium post is placed into your jaw by your implant dentist in Hanford at Hanford Family Dental Center.

The Parts of Your Dental Implant

The process of replacing a tooth with a dental implant occurs in several steps, each with separate costs. You won't have to come up with a lump sum, making it easier to budget for dental implants. Besides each phase of your treatment, you'll also need to pay for each component of your dental implant, which includes:

• Implant Post: An implant post is placed into your jaw to serve as a new tooth root.
• Abutment: Each post will require an abutment to connect your restoration.
• Restoration: Depending on the number of teeth you're treating, you'll require either a dental crown, bridge, or denture.

How Dental Implants Can Save You Money

Dental implants in Hanford are the most cost-effective treatment for missing teeth because they are proven to last for 30 years or longer. Dental implants have over a 95% success rate, so you won't have to budget for replacements every few years, like you would with traditional methods. Not to mention, dental implants are the only treatment to preserve your jawbone, lessening your risk of needing costly dental work later. Overall, you'll save money down the road by investing in the most reliable solution for tooth loss.

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

Your dental insurance may cover your consultation, imaging, and diagnostic services for a co-payment. Your benefits may also include a percentage of the fees for any medically necessary procedures, like prep work. After meeting your annual deductible, your dental insurance can pay 50% to 80% of the expenses until you reach your yearly limit. We will work on your behalf with your dental insurance to maximize your coverage to lower your out-of-pocket responsibility.

Making Dental Implants Affordable

In addition to dental insurance, our office offers other financial options to keep dental implants affordable, like:

• Traditional Payments: We accept all traditional payment methods, including cash, personal checks, and credit cards.
• CareCredit: Based on your credit approval, you may be a candidate for little or no interest in financing. You can pay any out-of-pocket costs using monthly installments through a third-party company, like CareCredit.

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

First and foremost, good oral hygiene is the foundation for the health of your dental implants. So, brush your teeth at least twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush and use a non-abrasive toothpaste. You should also floss daily to remove plaque and food debris from between your teeth and around the implant area. If you want the best results, consider using an antibacterial mouthwash to help reduce the risk of infection and keep your breath nice and fresh.

Eat a Healthy Diet

A balanced diet isn’t just a good way to stay healthy physically, it’s also important for the support of your dental implants. Focus on eating foods rich in vitamins and minerals, like bananas, carrots, broccoli, cheese, and lean meats like chicken and turkey. These will help strengthen your natural teeth and jawbone, providing an excellent environment for your implants to thrive. On the other hand, try to limit the amount of sugary or acidic foods and drinks you take in as they can contribute to tooth decay and gum disease.

Break Bad Habits

Certain habits can endanger the integrity of your dental implants, so it’s important to be aware of them. For example, smoking, vaping, or using tobacco products can lead to gum disease and implant failure, so it’s best to start cutting back or quitting altogether. Another habit that many patients have is chewing on hard objects like ice, pens, or fingernails or using their teeth as tools. Try to avoid doing this as it can easily damage your implants.

Protect Your Dental Implants

Your dental implants represent a big investment of both time and financial resources, so protecting them from damage is both smart and economical. So, if you grind your teeth at night or take part in physical activities like sports, we can create customized appliances like nightguards and mouthguards. These can help to prevent undue stress on your implants by shielding your mouth. Both types of guards can be custom-made by our team to ensure comfort and maximum protection.

Schedule Regular Dental Checkups

Lastly, regular dental checkups are vital for monitoring the health of your mouth, including your dental implants. So, try to visit our office at least twice a year for professional cleanings and examinations. These appointments allow us to detect and address any potential oral health issues early, ensuring your implants remain in excellent condition. We can also give you personalized advice on keeping your smile clean and beautiful.

What to Do Directly After Dental Implant Surgery

After your dental implants are placed, you must leave the forming blood clot alone. Touching or poking it would just delay (or even reverse) your recovery. With that said, please remember:

• Keep your fingers and tongue away from the surgical site(s) for a few days.
• Don’t spit; instead (if necessary), swallow your saliva or use a tissue for dabbing.
• Avoid using tobacco products in the first 24 hours after surgery.
• Refrain from using drinking straws for a while, as suction force can dislodge blood clots.

Common Side Effects When Recovering from Dental Implant Placement

You’ll likely face some mild side effects as you recover from dental implant placement. The most common of these are:

• Facial or Gum Swelling – Over the first three days post-surgery, your face or gums may swell a bit. Please apply a cold compress if that happens.
• Mouth-Related Discomfort – It’s normal for the treatment site to ache once your surgery’s anesthesia wears off. At that point, use store-bought pain relievers to ease your soreness.
• Intermittent Bleeding –  Your implant site could bleed slightly soon after the placement. If it does, apply gauze and light pressure to reduce your symptoms.

While the above effects aren’t pleasant, don’t worry; they should fade after a few days. Please contact us if they don’t or if they get worse.

Your Diet After Dental Implant Surgery

It’s best to follow a soft food diet right after a dental implant surgery. By doing so, you’ll avoid tough stuff that could dislodge your blood clot and delay recovery.

Good items to include as part of this soft food diet are:

• Yogurt
• Soft Cheese
• Scrambled Eggs
• (Non-hot) Soup 
• Mashed Potatoes 
• Pasta
• Pudding
• Sweet Potatoes
• Smoothies
• Ice Cream

Most patients are ready to resume a normal diet a few weeks after surgery (or if they’re up to it). However, you should still limit your intake of crunchy and tough foods. You also mustn’t chew directly on the implant site(s).

Post-Op Health & Oral Hygiene

Your mouth always needs daily cleaning, even after dental implant work. That means you should practice good oral hygiene as you recover. Just make sure to include these tricks as part of your oral care process:

• Rinse your mouth with salt water two or three times daily. You could also do oral rinses with a prescription mouthwash.
• Don’t use a mouthwash that has a high level of alcohol (i.e., Scope, Listerine, etc.).
• Be careful of the surgical site(s) when brushing your teeth twice daily.

What to Do After Your New Teeth Are Attached

The hardest part of your treatment is over once your new dental crown, bridge, or denture is attached. At that point, the most you’ll feel is some slight gum sensitivity – a symptom you can easily manage with pain medication. You shouldn’t experience any further swelling, bleeding, or extensions from the recovery process. On the contrary, you’ll be ready to go out and enjoy your newly restored smile!