The Dental Implants Process

Most people know about the natural look and feel of dental implants. But did you know that they also have a success rate of well over 90 percent? For this reason, most dentists agree that dental implants are a low-risk tooth, high benefit tooth replacement option. So if you want to get a confident smile back, dental implants might be the perfect treatment option for you. Here are the five steps followed by Dr. Mortensen and his staff to get you a beautiful and healthy smile with dental implants:

Stage 1: Initial Consultation With Dr. Mortensen
The dental implants process is simple and starts with a call to our Fountain Valley, CA office to schedule a consultation with Dr. Mortensen. During this appointment, Dr. Mortensen will carefully analyze and map your mouth, note your needs and discuss the results you want to achieve with your tooth replacement. After you and Dr. Mortensen agree on what the right plan is for you, you will schedule an appointment to install the dental implant.

Stage 2: Placing The Fixture
This part of the procedure involves a simple oral surgery. After general anesthetic is administered to prevent discomfort, your doctor makes a small incision in your gum tissue. Then, a titanium fixture is implanted in your jawbone and the small wound is sutured. The fixture will ultimately become the root for a strong and functional new tooth.

Stage 3: Osseointegration
After the fixture procedure, you will be sent home to heal. However, it is important that you follow your healing intructions precisely. Proper recovery is critical to sufficient regeneration of bone tissue in the jaw. When allowed to heal properly, new bone growth fuses into and around the implant in a process called Osseointegration. This stage lasts three to six months and ensures that the implant will remain firmly in place for a lifetime.

Stage 4: Placing The Abutment
Once the insertion site is adequately healed, you will return to have an abutment attached. An abutment is the piece of the dental implant that connects the fixture with the crown and holds the whole implant firmly in place. After this, the patient is allowed to heal again.

Stage Five: Placing The Crown
This final appointment begins the process of precisely matching your new artificial tooth with your natural teeth. After he is satisfied that your artificial tooth perfectly matches your other teeth, Dr. Mortensen will place your crown onto the abutment and your new smile will be complete!