Dental Implants have become an increasingly popular way to replace missing teeth. Implants can also help support dentures or partial dentures, and may even eliminate the need for this prosthesis. For a single tooth that must be removed, an implant can eliminate the need for a permanent bridge, which can be an aggressive reduction to perfectly good teeth.

​

A dental implant is a small titanium screw that acts as an artificial tooth root and provides a stable foundation for the final crown placement. An implant preserves healthy adjacent teeth by eliminating the need to grind them down to support a bridge. Dental implants look, feel, and function just like natural teeth and enable you to eat, speak, and smile like normal!

Simply extracting the tooth can have a negative effect on your chewing ability and may even cause the surrounding teeth to shift position, creating new areas for plaque and build up.

​

The treatment procedure involves an initial thorough examination involving x-rays to check bone condition. This type of x-ray is called a cone beam Computed Tomography (or CBCT) which is a 3-dimensional x-ray that we take in the office.   We use this information to plan out the size and shape of the implant to be placed. Implant placement is done in-office by Dr. Leggett, which may involve bone grafting or sinus augmentation. Once the implant has integrated (which takes between 3-6 months), we capture an impression which is used to make a custom abutment and final crown.