DENTAL IMPLANTS — ORMOND BEACH, FL

What Are Dental Implants?

Our dental practice is happy to offer several high-quality and long-lasting tooth loss solutions. However, our dentists highly recommend dental implants for almost any patient missing one, several, or all of their pearly whites. When it comes to replacing missing teeth with the next best thing, nothing compares to dental implants in Ormond Beach! Dental implants are designed to replicate the entire shape of your natural tooth, creating results that are impressively durable and lifelike. They can help you regain not just a complete, functioning smile, but also the quality of life you deserve. Contact Brown & Nawrocki Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry today to schedule your first consultation with our experienced dentists and team members, or if you have any questions we can help you with.

The amazing success behind dental implants is actually pretty simple. These small, metal posts are inserted into the jawbone in order to replace your missing tooth root. Traditional services like dentures and dental bridges don’t bother with replacing the roots of missing teeth, only the white crown that everyone sees. But without a functioning tooth root in place, these options tend to leave a lot to be desired in terms of stability, comfort, and function. Not only that, but the bone tissue in the jaw will fall victim to gradual deterioration, and your oral health and facial appearance can suffer as a result.

By providing a comprehensive replacement that perfectly mimics the root’s original function, patients can remain healthier in the long run with dental implants. The implant posts fuse with the jawbone to form a reliable foundation and continue to stimulate a healthy jawbone. On top of the post is a custom-made crown, bridge, or denture that will blend in perfectly with the rest of your teeth. Rebuilding missing teeth like this is the only way to regain a smile that looks, feels, and functions just like natural!

The 4-Step Dental Implant Process

Unlike other tooth replacement options, dental implants require a multistep process that spans several months. While this may sound somewhat complicated or overwhelming at first, it’s actually quite simple once you look at each stage. One of the key differences is the presence of a titanium post that integrates with your jaw, which needs to be surgically implanted into your jawbone. No matter how many questions you have about dental implants, we’ll make sure that you understand every phase of your treatment before you begin it. We want you feeling as confident about your treatment as we are!

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

At your very first appointment, our office will need to perform a detailed examination of your mouth and current oral health condition. With the help of our advanced technology, we’ll be able to learn a lot about your jaw, bone health, gum health, and other aspects regarding your eligibility to receive dental implants. This includes technology like our in-house CT cone beam scanner, which utilizes 3D imaging to create comprehensive representations of your unique smile and facial structures. Following all necessary scans, we’ll know for sure if dental implants are right for you.

In many cases, patients will need to have issues like tooth decay, gum disease, and inadequate jawbone addressed before moving on with dental implant treatment. These problems could potentially threaten the success of your dental implants, which is why it’s essential that we take care of them first. Once we’ve helped you plan for and complete preliminary treatments like gum disease therapy or bone grafting, we’ll schedule your dental implant surgery.

Dental Implant Surgery

In order to stay in place for decades at a time, dental implants need to have a stable foundation inside the jawbone. At Brown & Nawrocki Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry, we’re proud to be able to offer every step of the treatment in-house for maximum patient convenience, including dental implant surgery. As the only prosthodontist in the Ormond Beach area, Dr. Andrew Nawrocki specializes in replacing missing teeth, and he will personally perform every step of your dental implant treatment to ensure you feel as comfortable and confident as possible.

During your surgery, we numb your mouth, administer any sedation if requested, then create a small hole inside your jaw for the implant to be inserted. After closing the gum tissue over the implant post, we’ll need to wait for the implant to begin fusing with your natural bone tissue. Our office always makes sure to complete comprehensive treatment planning ahead of time in order to make your care as predictable as possible. When surgery is complete, you’ll speak with our team to get advice on managing your oral health until your follow-up appointment.

Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment Placement

The process in which the biocompatible titanium post integrates with your existing bone tissue is known as osseointegration. While this process ensures the implant remains stable for decades to come, it does require between four and six months to complete. Somewhere down the line, we’ll be able to place an abutment over the visible portion of your implant. This portion provides a foundation for your permanent restoration. Once attached, a few more weeks of healing are needed before the restoration is placed. This is the case whether you’re receiving a crown, bridge, or denture.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restorations

Once both your gum and bone tissue have completely healed, we can confidently attach the restoration directly to the implants. Your restorations are not only made from lifelike materials to ensure your smile looks natural-looking from top-to-bottom, but they are fully personalized to make your bite completely even. When you receive your permanent restoration, we’ll also go over the best practices to maintain at home to ensure your new smile lasts for several decades as intended.

Dental implants have an impressive success rate, but there is always a small chance that they could fail. If you ever notice signs of infection or other problems with your prosthetic teeth, call our team. We will thoroughly evaluate the situation and do all we can to treat the problem as conservatively as possible.

Benefits of Dental Implants

Dental implants in Ormond Beach are one of the most highly recommended treatments to replace missing teeth because they offer a wide array of benefits that distinguish them from traditional restorations. Because they restore the entire structure of missing teeth, they are able to offer more than simply aesthetic advantages. To learn how dental implants can drastically affect your life by improving your confidence and physical and oral health, read on or schedule a consultation with our team.

Day-to-Day Benefits

• Eat all of your favorite foods without having to worry about your restoration’s instability. Whether you’re chewing on a piece of steak or crusty bread, your dental implants won’t budge at all, allowing you to indulge with confidence.
• Just like natural teeth, dental implants are simple to care for. By taking the time to brush for two minutes each day, rinse your mouth, and floss, you’ll be able to keep your mouth clean.
• Something as simple as having a complete smile can help you enjoy daily life more, like interacting with one of your coworkers without worrying about what they’re thinking about your incomplete grin. With this newfound confidence, you can do more without self-consciousness about your smile bringing you down.

Health Benefits

• Because dental implants restore the root structure of your teeth in addition to the biting surface, you’re able to maintain healthy jawbone density and keep your natural facial structure. Traditional restorations don’t offer this benefit due to their aesthetic-centered design.
• If you have one or several missing gaps in an arch, replacing them with dental implants will help support your surrounding teeth without needing to alter them. With traditional bridges, a small portion of your natural, healthy tooth enamel needs to be altered for placement. Because your restoration will be secured to dental implants instead, you won’t need to worry about impacting the health or structure of your other teeth.
• Replacing missing teeth with dental implants can reduce your risk of developing oral health problems by making it easier to clean your mouth. Filling gaps in your arch can eliminate nooks and crannies that can harbor plaque, food debris, and tartar that leads to cavities and gum disease.

Long-Term Benefits

• The modern dental implant treatment has been nearly perfected and boasts an impressive 95% success rate, even 10 years after their placement! This helps many patients feel comfortable moving forward with the procedure, knowing that their investment in money and time will all be well worth it.
• Unlike traditional dentures and bridges that last an average of five to seven years, dental implants have been shown to last 35 or more years with the proper maintenance. This not only saves you from needing to visit your dentist as often, but it also saves you money by eliminating the need for frequent repairs and replacements.
• By visiting your implant dentist in Ormond Beach and moving forward with treatment, you’re investing time into improving your overall quality of life for decades to come. That’s truly a priceless long-term advantage.

Who Dental Implants Can Help

If you are missing teeth or wearing a loose denture, we can help. Dental implants work to restore your smile and confidence. We offer a wide range of options for patients based on their individual needs. The best option, especially if the missing tooth space has no surrounding teeth, is a dental implant. A dental implant will give you optimum functionality as well as an aesthetic solution.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

Most people who have good oral health and adequate jawbone density are candidates for dental implants, but you will still need a comprehensive consultation. Besides a visual exam, a CT scan is used to assess your oral health. A customized treatment plan is created based on how many teeth you are missing.

Missing 1 Tooth

An implant replaces both the lost natural tooth and its root. This is a great alternative to a bridge, which requires the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth be crowned. The implant’s root also helps to better preserve the bone and keep it healthy.

Missing Multiple Teeth

Bridges or partial dentures held in place with dental implants will replace both your lost natural teeth and some of the roots without needing support from the adjacent teeth as with a traditional fixed bridge or partial. The implant’s root also helps to better preserve the bone and keep it healthy.

Missing All Teeth

Dentures that are supported by dental implants are more comfortable and stable than conventional dentures, allowing you to retain a more natural biting and chewing capacity. In addition to fixed (permanent) implant dentures, patients can also select “overdentures” that are removable for convenient cleaning and storage. Either way, anchoring a full denture in place with dental implants allows you to overcome practically all of the downfalls of traditional dentures!

As an alternative to a traditional implant denture, you could choose All-On-4. Only 4 implant posts are used to support the denture, but you still enjoy exceptional stability. Besides using fewer posts, All-On-4 offers other benefits as well. The posts are placed at an angle in the thickest part of your jaw. This can often eliminate the need for bone grafting if you have lost density in your jaw. In addition, you can be fitted for a temporary denture the same day as your placement surgery, so you do not need to go without your teeth while you heal.

As another possible alternative to traditional implant treatment, our practice also offers Hybridge dental implants for patients who have lost all of their teeth and are in need of a fast, reliable replacement that can be completed in as little as one appointment. As a Hybridge-Certified implant dentist, Dr. Nawrocki has all the special training and equipment needed to ensure your treatment goes as smoothly as possible.

Learn More About Hybridge

Learn More About Implant Dentures

Learn More About All-on-4 Implants

Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants

One of the facts of life is that you get what you pay for, and when it comes to dental implants there is no exception. Largely considered to be a long-term investment, dental implants not only rebuild your smile, but protect your oral health and make it easier to eat your favorite foods. With that said, there are many factors that can influence your final cost. Below, you can learn more about what to expect.

Preliminary Treatments & Dental Implant Surgery

If you need to have preliminary treatments completed before dental implants can effectively be placed, it’s important to recognize that these procedures will increase the total cost of your care. For example, gum disease therapy is required to treat infections prior to surgery, and sometimes teeth need to be extracted to make room for complex restorations. When receiving anesthesia during surgery, that also incurs a specific cost. Thankfully, our practice performs every step of treatment in-office, so you’ll find your fees to be more compact and easier to understand.

The Parts of Your Dental Implant

In terms of the implant itself, you can expect costs to increase if you need multiple to replace teeth, rather than just one. In addition, different materials can affect the overall price tag of your individual implants as well as the manufacturer the dentist receives them from. Much like how there are different makes and models of cars, there are different implants that may last longer or work more effectively. Dr. Nawrocki will always be transparent about the materials he uses and where he gets his dental implants, so feel free to ask him during your dedicated consultation.

Final Implant Restoration

It’s clear that when you need to replace multiple teeth, different restorations need to be designed to accommodate the open gaps in your smile. While dental crowns are used to replace single teeth, you’ll find that our office makes use of bridges, partial dentures, and full dentures to replace multiple or all the teeth in your smile. We’ll confirm the restoration that will best fit your needs at your initial appointment.

Does My Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

In most cases, dental insurance doesn’t offer coverage for dental implants because they aren’t seen as medically necessary. With that said, there are some procedures that can receive coverage depending on the plan you have. Our team members are trained to review the details of your plan and have years of experience helping patients maximize benefits to the fullest. In some cases, the restoration itself or preliminary treatment can receive coverage, albeit at a percentage.

Making Dental Implants Affordable

Just because you don’t have dental insurance doesn’t mean you can’t replace teeth via dental implants. For example, many patients make use of CareCredit, a third-party financing option that allows you to pay for dental care in more manageable portions. This enables families and individuals to make expensive dental treatments fit into just about any budget. On top of that, most CareCredit plans come with little-to-zero interest attached. If you are a new patient, you can have $100 go towards your dental implant treatment as well!

Advanced Dental Implant Procedures

Dental implants have an incredibly high success rate, but not everyone is automatically a good candidate for implant treatment. If you have been missing teeth for quite some time, your jawbone may have gradually deteriorated. Insufficient jawbone depth is a common factor in implant failure. Thankfully, an advanced dental implant procedure in Ormond Beach can help rebuild your jawbone and pave the way to successfully restoring your smile with dental implants. Keep reading to learn more about bone grafts, sinus lifts, PRP/PRF treatment, and ridge expansions at Brown & Nawrocki Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry, or contact us to schedule an appointment.

Bone Grafting

If you have a weakened jawbone from years of missing teeth, you may be able to benefit from bone grafting in Ormond Beach. This advanced procedure can enhance the thickness of your jawbone by transferring a small piece of bone to the weakened area of your jaw. The new bone material will stimulate your body to produce new bone cells in the affected area, thereby slowly building your jawbone back to full strength and thickness.

The small piece of bone or grafting material used in this procedure can come from:

• The patient’s hip bone or rear jawbone
• A separate human donor
• An animal source
• Synthetic grafting material

A bone grafting procedure typically requires 3-6 months to fully heal. Once your jawbone is back to full strength, you will be ready to begin dental implant treatment.

Sinus Lift

If you are missing a tooth in the upper arch, you may not have enough bone near the maxillary sinuses to support dental implants. If this is the case for you, a sinus lift in Ormond Beach can make room for new bone to be added near your molars and premolars.

Sinus lift surgery begins with a small incision in the gum tissue where your back teeth used to be. Next, our dentist will open a small window in the underlying bone and gently lift the sinus membrane up and away from your jaw. Grafting material is then placed in the hole to stimulate new bone growth. Finally, they will stitch up your gums to begin the healing process. You’ll be ready to receive your dental implants after 4-12 months.

PRP/PRF Treatment

In other fields, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) has proven beneficial in many situations throughout the body. In fact, PRP and PRF treatment is widely used to combat signs of aging in the skin but also encourage new cell growth and regeneration, leading to faster healing times following surgery or injuries.

When it comes to implants, we take a small amount of your blood and put it in a centrifuge, where the plasma is separated. Next, the PRP is reinjected into the area where you need this regenerative boost.

Ridge Expansion

Dental implants are placed in an area of the jawbone called the alveolar ridge. The ridge must not only be deep enough to support implants but also be wide enough. If yours is not of adequate size, we may suggest that you undergo ridge expansion.

A ridge expansion is a surgery wherein the ridge bone is divided into two, then wedged apart. The space between the inner and outer sections can be filled with a bone graft. In some cases, dental implants in Ormond Beach can be placed simultaneously with the ridge expansion surgery. In other instances, a healing period is necessary after the surgery before a patient can move forward to the next phase of their treatment.

Maintaining & Caring for Your Dental Implants

Many men and women choose implant treatment over more traditional tooth replacement options due to the long-lasting nature of dental implants. While crowns and bridges must be replaced periodically, dental implants can often last for decades! Of course, if you want to maintain your dental implants for as long as possible, you will have to take good care of them. But don’t worry, our team at Brown & Nawrocki Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry can help! Below are some important tips for dental implant care in Ormond Beach.

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

Prioritizing your oral hygiene routine after replacing missing teeth with dental implants is very important. Although implant-supported teeth cannot get cavities, bacteria can still attack nearby gums and teeth. Peri-implantitis, an infection of the tissues surrounding a dental implant, can eventually lead to severe bone deterioration and even implant failure.

To avoid peri-implantitis, tooth decay and other common dental issues, keep brushing your teeth at least twice a day. Be sure to brush for a full two minutes each time and clean the inside, outside and top of your teeth.  In addition, be sure to floss at least once a day to remove bits of food debris. If you find it difficult to floss around your dental implant, try using a water flosser or an interdental brush instead.

Finally, incorporate an anti-bacterial mouthwash into your daily oral hygiene routine if you do not already use one. Rinsing your mouth daily with mouthwash can help kill any germs that avoid your toothbrush and floss.

Protect Your Dental Implants

No matter how gifted you are as an athlete, accidental collisions can occur when playing recreational sports. If an aggressive elbow or loose ball hits your mouth and damages your dental implant, it may need to be removed. To shield your smile from harm, we recommend wearing a protective mouthguard whenever you play basketball, football or other contact sports. 

Teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, can also damage both natural teeth and dental implants in Ormond Beach. Often caused by daily stress and anxiety, bruxism can lead to bone loss around a dental implant or even implant failure. If you know or suspect that you grind your teeth or clench your jaw at night, consider wearing a nightguard while you sleep.

Finally, avoid daily behavior that can easily damage both teeth and dental implants, such as chewing on ice or using your teeth to open packages.

Schedule Regular Dental Checkups

The early warning signs of some oral health issues are often hard to notice at home in the mirror. That is why regular checkups and professional cleanings are key to maintaining a healthy smile. Biannual dental exams at our office give Dr. Nawrocki the opportunity to inspect your implants for any signs of trouble. Catching peri-implantitis and other implant-related problems early on is critical to be able to successfully treat them. 

Has it been more than six months since your last checkup? Then do not wait to schedule your next appointment! You will be in good hands with Dr. Andrew Nawrocki, an experienced implant dentist in Ormond Beach and a proud Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.

Dental Implants Post-Op Instructions

Our dentists are trained to place dental implants all under one roof, which means they are also trained to provide helpful tips on what you’ll need to do immediately following your surgery. They’ll break down all post-op instructions that your recovery is as smooth and simple as possible. As you’ll learn below, post-op is not relatively complicated, but it is very important to keep in mind after your implants have been placed. If you have questions about your dental implant post-op instructions in Ormond Beach, please don’t hesitate to give us a call!

What to Do Directly After Dental Implant Surgery

While implant surgery can be an involved and time-consuming process, you can recover comfortably when you keep the right aftercare steps in mind. Soon enough, you’ll have not only a complete smile, but a healthy one as well.

With that said, you’ll need to make sure that the blood clot on the surgical site is completely untouched so the gums can begin the healing process. For example, to prevent disturbing the implant site, you’ll need to avoid:

• Drinking from straws
• Smoking
• Placing your fingers or tongue on the surgery site

Common Side Effects

It can be difficult to know which symptoms are normal vs. abnormal if you’ve never had oral surgery before. For example, you should know that initial discomfort is normal and will go away on its own after enough time has passed. If your discomfort appears to be getting worse, get in touch with our office.

Furthermore, the following side effects can be expected following your dental implant placement:

• Intermittent or minimal bleeding: This can be managed by applying gentle pressure on the surgical site using gauze, which our office will provide.
• Swelling: This symptom can last for over a week, but can be managed with cold compresses applied on the jaw for 10-minute intervals
• Mild discomfort: This can be alleviated with prescription medications from our office.

Diet

You should make it a priority to stock up on foods ahead of your implant surgery so that you don’t have to travel to purchase meals you can eat safely. For example, we recommend that you have the following foods on hand ahead of your treatment:

• Applesauce
• Yogurt
• Fruits (for smoothies!)
• Ice cream
• Mashed potatoes
• Pudding
• Cold soups
• Soft-cooked pasta
• Eggs

As your discomfort wanes, you can start to transition back to more chewy foods. However, you should continue avoiding the implant site as you eat.

Health & Oral Hygiene

Keeping your mouth clean is crucial after your surgery. This ensures your implant can properly fuse with your bone tissue. The best oral care tips to maintain at home include the following:

• Brush your teeth as normal (i.e. two minutes at a time twice a day) while making sure to be extremely careful around the surgery area.
• Floss at least once a day.
• Use salt water to rinse your mouth out two to three times a day. We can also prescribe an oral rinse to keep your mouth clean of bacteria as you heal. We do not recommend using mouth wash containing alcohol as this can cause the mouth to dry out.

What to Do After Your New Teeth Are Attached

After your implants are fully healed, you’ll be able to receive your dedicated restoration! When the restoration is attached, it’s normal to experience a little sensitivity in the gums. With painkillers on hand, managing this should be relatively straightforward. However, if you notice bleeding or swelling, call us as this is not normal when the restoration is placed.