Dental Implants - Burlington, MA
Fill in the Gaps for Missing Teeth
At Complete Dental Care in Burlington, we believe that dental implants offer the best option for replacing your missing teeth. Dental implants improve your appearance, ensure your oral health, and stop bone loss. Having missing teeth can negatively impact your confidence as well as contribute to a higher risk for gum disease, infection, and losing even more teeth!
Dr. James Kostas has been placing implants since 2009. Dr. Kostas restores dental implants for patients who have one or more missing teeth. For more than six decades, dental implants have been used to replace missing teeth. Excellent success rates, up to 98%, and a range of available options, from single tooth replacements to implant-retained dentures, allow us to meet the needs of all of their patients seeking teeth replacements. Dental implants replace both the crown and the root—and can be used to replace a single tooth or used as an anchor point for bridges, partials and dentures.
If you have one or more missing teeth, you’re not the only one. Many adults in the United States experience tooth loss for a variety of reasons:
- Dental injuries
- Large cavities
- Congenitally missing teeth
- Root canal failures
- Excessively worn teeth
- Periodontitis
The good news is that, thanks to our experience and skill as implant specialists, you won’t have to settle for a less than perfect smile. We know that our Burlington, Bedford and Billerica restorative dental patients will find that implants are terrific missing teeth replacements. The benefits of dental implants include:
- Aligns bite
- Appears natural
- Improves oral health
- Prevents bone loss
- Provides stability
- Ensures functionality
- Boosts confidence
- Improves appearance
Implant Placement
To place the dental implant, Dr. Kostas inserts a titanium post into the jawbone, which acts like a natural tooth root. The procedure varies depending on a number of external factors including number and location of missing teeth, oral and overall health, and patients’ response to treatment. Regardless, the procedure is relatively similar. We make a small incision in the soft tissue, insert an implant into the jawbone, and place a protective cover over the surgical site. Once the jawbone heals around the post, over the course of three to six months, it will be time to add either the porcelain crown or attach the dental prosthesis.
Implant Restorations
After the implant post fuses with the jawbone, a process known as osseointegration, the implant mimics the natural root structure of teeth and can be attached to a replacement tooth or teeth to restore the full form and function of patients’ smiles. We may place a temporary prosthetic during the osseointegration process in order to protect the implant site and give patients the ability to consume a more varied diet until the final restoration can be placed. We typically recommend the following restorations once implants are fully fused with patients’ gums and jawbones:
- Single tooth – One dental crown is attached to a single dental implant
- Two consecutive teeth – in certain situations two attached dental crowns can be supported by a single dental implant post
- Three to four consecutive teeth – a number of dental crowns are fused together to form a bridge that is supported by two dental implants (one on each end)
- Multiple consecutive or nonconsecutive teeth – partial dentures can be attached to a number of dental implants for a more stable replacement solution
- A full arch of missing teeth – a denture can be attached to between four and six dental implant posts to provide a secure, natural looking and feeling tooth replacement option
In Burlington, Dr. James Kostas can place and restore your dental implants to replace one or more missing teeth. Dental implants can also be used to anchor your full or partial dentures. At Complete Dental Care, our Burlington patients can rely on us to make their dental implant experience as comfortable as possible. Let us help you smile again!