Single tooth implants in Pearisburg

Why replace a single missing tooth?

A gap toward the back of the mouth rarely shows, so it is easy to put off. What happens next is slow and easy to miss. The teeth on either side tip into the space, the tooth that used to meet it drifts toward the gap, and chewing shifts to the other side of your mouth.

Underneath, the jaw bone where the root sat begins to shrink, because nothing is loading it anymore. None of this is an emergency. It is a reason to decide what goes in the space on purpose, rather than by default.

Why an implant instead of a bridge?

An implant is a small titanium post placed where the root used to be. Once bone has grown onto it, it carries a crown the way a root carried the tooth, and that gives it two advantages over a bridge:

• It keeps the bone. An implant is the only replacement that loads the jaw the way a root did, which is why the bone around it stays.
• It leaves the neighbors alone. A dental bridge is held by the teeth on either side of the gap, and those teeth have to be shaped for crowns to carry it. An implant needs nothing from them.

How is a single tooth implant placed?

Treatment runs over months rather than weeks, because bone healing sets the pace. The post is placed here in the office on Tazewell Street, so an implant does not mean a drive to another town. There are four steps:

• Planning. Before anything is placed, we check the bone and where the nerve and sinus sit. If there is not enough bone, that is far better known now than discovered later.
• Placement. The post goes in under local anesthetic, and you can ask about nitrous oxide or oral sedation if you are nervous. Most people say the day after feels like having a tooth pulled.
• Healing. Several months while bone fuses to the post. If the gap shows when you smile, ask about a temporary tooth for the meantime.
• The tooth. An abutment is fitted to the post, then a crown matched in shape and shade to the teeth beside it.

Who is a good candidate for a dental implant?

Most of it comes down to three things. The gums have to be healthy: gum disease is treated first, because the same process that loosens teeth will loosen an implant. There has to be enough bone, and bone shrinks where a tooth has been lost, so a gap that has been there for years may have less to work with. And smoking lowers the success rate of implants, which we will tell you plainly rather than let you find out later.

We also ask about your general health and the medicines you take, since some affect healing. If an implant is not the right answer, a bridge or a partial denture may be, and we would rather tell you that than sell you the more expensive option.

Caring for a dental implant

An implant cannot decay, but the gum and bone around it can still become infected, much as they can around a natural tooth. Left alone, that costs bone, and bone is what holds the implant in.

So the routine is a familiar one. Brush it, clean between it and its neighbors every day, and keep up your check-ups and cleanings so the gum around it is watched. If you clench or grind your teeth, tell us, because that puts heavy force on the crown.

What does a single tooth implant cost?

The fee depends on what your tooth needs, including whether it has to come out first, so you get a written estimate before anything is scheduled. An implant usually costs more at the start than a bridge or a partial denture. What you are paying for is a tooth that stands on its own and keeps the bone beneath it.

Dental plans differ a great deal on implants. Some pay toward them, some pay only what a less expensive option would have cost, and some will not pay to replace a tooth that was missing before you joined. For larger treatment we can send the insurer a pre-treatment estimate first, so you know their answer before you commit. See insurance for the plans we work with, or the Virginia Dental Club if you have no dental insurance.

Questions patients ask