Dental Implants Shelby Township

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are small titanium posts that are secured beneath the gumline and within the jawbone. Due to their biocompatible nature, they’re able to fuse with the jawbone, providing the tissue with stimulation and blood flow that will keep it from deteriorating over time. After this process, called osseointegration, has occurred, our team can then attach restorations to the implants, which will permanently secure them within the mouth, just like your natural teeth.

The 5-Step Dental Implant Process

• Dental Implant Consultation – Every dental implant treatment begins with a consultation with Dr. Van de Vyver or Dr. Leppek. Our team will complete a thorough examination of your mouth, examine your oral and medical health history, and review diagnostic images to determine if you’re a good candidate for the procedure.
• Surgery Planning – Our team will then plan your treatment by mapping out where your dental implants will need to be placed according to your unique anatomy. Using special software, we will virtually place the implant and create a 3D-printed surgical guide for the actual procedure based on this. The guide will ensure your implant is place exactly where it needs to be.
• Dental Implant Surgery – Our team is able to complete the entire dental implant procedure in-house so you won’t have to worry about working with a different team or going to a separate office at any point during the process. Using our custom designed 3D-printed surgical guide, each post takes about an hour to place.
• Healing & Abutment Attachment – After your dental implants have been placed, your mouth will heal over the next several weeks. Osseointegration will also occur in the following three to six months, which is when your implants will fuse with your jawbone. After this process is complete, we’ll secure small metal attachments onto the top of your implants, called the abutments.
• Securing the Final Restorations – Finally, the last step of your treatment will be to attach your final restorations to your dental implants to complete your smile.

Benefits of Dental Implants

Dental implants offer a variety of unique benefits that can drastically improve your quality of life, including:

• A lifespan of up to 35 years with good hygiene and maintenance.
• Easy to care for. Simply brush and floss like you normally would.
• Regain up to 80 percent of your original bite force.
• Feel more confident with a smile that looks and feels natural.
• Retain your jawbone density, and in turn, your facial structure.
• Minimize your risk of future tooth loss.

Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants

While dental implants require a greater investment of time, effort, and finances than traditional bridges and dentures, they offer a wide range of remarkable benefits that make them well worth the price. Since each implant is completely customized to address the patient’s needs, we will need to see you at our dental office in Shelby Township before we can provide you with a proper cost estimate, but here’s a quick guide to how these amazing devices are priced so you can get an idea of what to expect.

Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery

To be a suitable candidate for dental implants, you will need to have adequate jawbone density and be free from oral infections. We’ll be happy to address tooth decay or gum disease with restorative treatments at our office, and we can refer you to a specialist for bone grafts if necessary. In many cases, restorative treatments are at least partially covered by insurance.

The cost of your implant surgery will be represented on your bill. Since our staff is trained and equipped to complete the entire process in house, you won’t have to worry about seeing an outside specialist who uses a different pricing structure.

The Parts of Your Dental Implant

Factors that will contribute to the price of your dental implant treatment include:

• Number of implants: Each dental implant placed will be noted separately on your bill.
• Type of restoration: Larger restorations like full dentures are more costly than smaller ones like crowns.
• Size of the implant: Some patients require longer implants than others, which will make the devices more costly.
• Material: Most implants are made from titanium, but some are made from zirconia.
• Brand: Please contact us if you would like to learn more about who manufactures our dental implants.

How Dental Implants Can Save You Money

While dental implants are typically more expensive than traditional bridges and dentures, they deliver a range of benefits that can make them a sounder investment. For example, many implants can last a lifetime if they receive excellent care, which will negate the need for costly replacements for traditional restorations. This can potentially save a patient thousands of dollars over several decades.

Implants can also preserve the health of the mouth by preventing uneven enamel erosion, preserving the strength of the jawbone, and protecting the gums from injury, which may save a patient from having to pay for restorative treatments later.

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

Dental insurance does not usually cover dental implants, but we will be happy to go over your plan with you in case it is an exception. We’ll do everything possible to help you maximize your insurance benefits and file any necessary claims. In some cases, insurance will partially pay for preliminary treatments such as gum disease therapy.

Making Dental Implants Affordable

The team at Smiles in Shelby offers several ways to make dental implants more affordable. These include:

• Flexible financing: We partner with CareCredit and Lending Club, trusted third-party financiers that can break your bill into easy monthly installments with little to no interest.
• Our in-house membership plan: For $299 a year, you can have your routine care covered and receive 15% off many of our other oral health services.