Who Can Have Dental Implants?

Most people are suitable for dental implants, and age isn’t a barrier, provided your jaws have finished growing. We will need to carefully assess your dental and medical health to ensure that implants are the most suitable treatment for you. Our dentist, Dr. Roger Harrington, will also discuss all possible treatment options.

What is the Process for Having a Dental Implant? 

We will need to carry out diagnostic tests, including x-rays and a cone beam CT scan. These images allow us to carefully assess your jawbone and plan implant placement, making the best use of your jawbone where it is strongest and thickest. If you don’t have quite enough bone, you may need a bone graft, a routine procedure to build up your jawbone. 

The actual surgery is only minor and relatively quick, and often local anesthetic is adequate. However, if you feel at all apprehensive, please let us know, and we can discuss using sedation dentistry to ensure you feel more comfortable and relaxed. After the implant is in place, it needs time to fuse with the bone surrounding it, a process called osseointegration and which takes 4-6 months to complete. 

Once osseointegration is complete, we can restore the implant with a crown, bridge or denture. When designing and making these restorations, we take enormous care, ensuring your new teeth look natural and function similarly to real teeth, allowing you to speak and eat confidently.

Caring for Dental Implants

With proper care, dental implants can last for twenty years or more, but they need to be cleaned thoroughly. This isn’t difficult, and our hygiene team will show you precisely how to look after your new implant teeth. Additionally, regular checkups and hygiene appointments are essential, so we can check the condition of your implants and clean them professionally.

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885 Winnipeg St.
Penticton, BC
V2A 5N4