Here we at Seattle’s Best Smiles we only offer the best level of dental implant quality: our interlock MDI, mini dental implants are made in the USA and FDA approved for all dental restorative areas. Our mini dental implants are high-grade solid core titanium alloy dental implants made to be placed in any area of the mouth.
Reasons why titanium alloy implants are better:
- Less invasive
- Causes less discomfort
- Requires fewer visits to the dental office
- Require less healing time
- Usually less expensive
Briefly walk me through a typical dental implant procedure.
A typical mini dental implant procedure is quite simple. Once we decide that you are a candidate for the mini dental implants, we will give you an estimate of treatment, and a time to come back in. In most instances, we make an attempt to do it right then and there, but sometimes we ask you to return for a later date. Once we start, we begin by giving you some local anesthetic. We don’t overdose on it, but enough to make you comfortable. Most people are surprised to learn the procedure itself does not take very long.
Once it’s numb, we pick the site that we’re going to be placing the implant and drill a small hole through the tissue into the bone called an osteotomy. Once we are comfortable with that it is exactly where we want to place it, we place the sterile implant by threading it or screw it with an electric motor. After we have placed it properly, we take an x-ray and will temporize the tooth. More than likely, within three weeks, we’re able to place the crown on top of that.
One of the best advantages of the mini dental implants is that they’re a lot less invasive, and there’s a lot less healing time because of the threads on the implant. They’re a little bit more aggressive thread, but because they’re smaller, they typically don’t hurt. Every patient is different, but most patients have very little, if any, pain afterward, and some patients have more. Before we actually begin, it can be difficult to determine exactly what your specific reaction will be.
Dental Implant Procedure Steps:
- Use a local anesthetic (LA) and wait for numbness
- Choose the exact placement of the implant
- Drill a small hole through the tissue into the bone called osteotomy
- Place the sterile implant by threading or screwing it with an electric motor
- Take X-ray of the area where the implant is placed
- Temporize the tooth
- Wait about 3 weeks
- Place the crown on the implant
What does the dental implant process timeline look like?
Typically, once we place the implant, three weeks later, you’re going to have your tooth, not three or four months.
What does a dental implant surgery recovery consist of? What are some do’s and don'ts?
What are some of the dos and don’ts? At Seattle’s Best Smiles, we try to simplify things. After we place the implant, we usually will place a temporary on the implant. One of the things we try not to have you do right away is to bite on that temporary, but if you do, there’s really a very little reaction that can happen. You should just take it easy for the first day and just stay away from that area as much as possible. Mini dental implants make things a lot easier for patients.
What are some of the problems people have with dental implants and what do you do to prevent those problems?
The biggest problem that we have with an implant is the integration of the implant with the bone. It’s not a big issue, but it is the most common problem. When we place an implant, we hope we can test and check the bone to make sure that it’s of good quality and has a strong density. At times, when we start we can tell right away if the bone is not going to be all that dense. That is when we use a measurement of torque, the actual way we place the implant. We receive feedback from the instrument that’s placing it to tell us exactly how much torque that we are achieving.
Once we reach the appropriate torque, we instantly know that the permanent crown can be placed on the implant within three weeks. In some cases, the bone is not dense enough, and we don’t achieve enough torque. This can cause us to wait an additional three weeks. If a dental implant were to fail, they’ll fail within the first three weeks, which is when it is easy to fix. If that were to happen, we’ll just remove it, and wait a few weeks before placing another one.
Overall, it’s a great procedure that has helped lots of people. If you have any questions, I encourage you to give us call. We can certainly give you a complimentary consultation, and go over everything with you to let you know if you’re a great candidate.
