Dentist Airdrie
Dental Implant Surgery

Implants provide a long-lasting solution for missing teeth, and if properly cared for, the tooth replacement can last a lifetime. Dental implants feel, function, and look like your natural teeth, plus they don’t require any extra care besides the usual daily brushing and flossing.

Whether you’re missing one or more teeth, Bayside Dental & Orthodontics will place the necessary number of dental implants to ensure that your problem is addressed satisfactorily.

Some of the dental implant services we provide in Airdrie Alberta areas include:

• Single-tooth dental implants
• Removable implant-supported dentures
• Implant-supported bridges
• Same day teeth – following tooth extraction
• Mini-dental implants – for those who don’t have enough bone tissue for full-size implants or for stabilising dentures

What are the benefits of implants?

• Patients who have implants or retained dentures report having better overall quality of life than those who have standard or conventional (free-floating) dentures.
• Implants help keep your facial structure
• Dental implants are easy to clean and don’t decay.
• Implants help keep adjacent teeth in place. There’s no need to shape down natural teeth for crowns or bridges or add pressure to these adjacent teeth.
• Implant-supported crowns and bridges last longer functionally than conventional crowns and bridges and can be more cost-effective over time.
• Implant-supported replacement teeth can eliminate embarrassing denture slippage.

Dental implant procedure

Your treatment process starts well before the actual day of your dental implant surgery. Depending on the size of your case, we may need to collect various data to help plan your treatment. Such data includes:

• Impressions of the site – damaged tooth or space
• CT scan and digital x-rays
• Digital intraoral and external photography
• The current state of your dental health

X-rays are an important part of the pre-treatment process as they reveal how much healthy bone is available at the site of the implant, the condition of your soft tissue, and help us map the position of the sinus cavity, nerves, and other vital structures. We will also use 3D software to assess whether or not a bone graft is necessary to provide enough support for the implant, as well as to plan the ideal angle in which to place the dental implant.

After making the necessary preparations, we can continue with the dental implant surgery. Here are the steps involved:

Step 1: Initial Surgical Treatment

There are three possible procedures that may be required before the implant can be placed, namely:

• Teeth removal
• Minor bone graft – using tissue from your palate or wisdom tooth area
• Major bone graft – using a hip graft for intricate cases

If no initial surgery is necessary, then you’ll skip this step.

Step 2: Implant placement surgery

Before the surgery, we will administer a local anaesthetic injection in the gum, and another for IV sedation in the arm.

When you’re sedated, an incision will be made in the gum, exposing the bone underneath. A drill will be used to create a “socket” in the jawbone where the implant will be screwed. After placement, the gum will be stitched back over using dissolvable stitches.

Step 3: Implant exposure surgery

You will need a few weeks for the implant site to heal, after which you will undergo another surgical procedure, this time to expose the covered implant. The thin screws will be removed and replaced with larger ones that protrude through the gum.

Step 4: Final restorative treatment

Depending on your choice of replacement teeth – denture, crown, or bridge – you will have a number of restorative appointments to customise your new artificial tooth so it fits comfortably on the implant.

Step 5: Post surgery care

Your surgeon will advise you on how to take care of your new tooth or teeth to ensure longevity of the restoration.

Dental implant cost

The cost of your dental implant procedure will depend on the type of restoration used – bridge, crown, or denture – as well as the requirement for additional procedures, such as bone grafts. If you have dental coverage, we will help you maximise on the benefits while reducing your out of pocket costs.