Are you tired of looking in the mirror and being embarrassed about your dentures or missing teeth? If you want the facts about getting dental implants in San Luis Obispo, you’ve come to the right place.
SLO Smiles is a multidisciplinary dental office with the most talented and experienced dental implant dentists in San Luis Obispo County. For years, Dr. Mark Leopold, Dr. Nicholas Murphy, Dr. Craig Main, Dr. Ian Leopold, and Dr. Sienella Thomaszadeh have been helping people understand their options when it comes to missing teeth.
Of course, one of the biggest advantages to dental implants is that you will feel wonderful about the way you look!
It is not uncommon for people to have one or more missing teeth. An estimated 178 million people in the U.S. are missing at least one tooth, a statistic expected to rise over the next 20 years due to the growth of periodontal disease. In fact, 69 percent of all adults who are 35 to 44 years of age have at least one tooth “gap” due to trauma, decay, or periodontal disease. By the age of 74, about one quarter of people in the U.S. have no remaining teeth at all.
If you have missing teeth, you need to know that you’re not alone and that we can help. At SLO Smiles, our dentists have the training, technology, and talent to help you regain a winning smile and a healthier mouth. One of the most popular solutions today is permanent teeth implants. A visit to a dental implant expert could be the answer to your dreams of a fantastic smile!
When your mouth is missing a single tooth or multiple teeth, you are at higher risk for numerous dental issues.
Because dental implants are permanent, they act like natural teeth. This means that you will be able to treat them like the rest of the teeth in your mouth. Unlike dentures, they never need to be removed, and they rarely require anything other than brushing, flossing and regular teeth cleanings once they are professionally implanted.
Even from an appearance standpoint, dental implants look completely natural. The post that supports the tooth is placed under the gums in the mouth, and there are no signs that the tooth is a result of a surgical procedure.
We will be happy to provide more information about dental implants and other treatments to correct your missing teeth. Please contact SLO Smiles to schedule an appointment today.
If you have one or more missing teeth, you may be considering alternatives to having a “gap” in your smile. Two of those alternatives are dental implants and dentures. Dr. Mark Leopold, Dr. Nicholas Murphy, Dr. Craig Main, Dr. Ian Leopold, and Dr. Sienella Thomaszadeh want you to understand the difference.
Many patients who initially opted for removable dentures have switched to dental implants with positive results. Implants feel and respond like natural teeth, allowing for more natural chewing and eliminating those embarrassing moments when dentures may have slipped or clicked.
Even if you already have dentures, you may still be a good candidate for dental implant treatments to make your life easier and improve the health of your mouth, as well as your overall confidence in your smile! Patients interested in discussing the wide range of differences between dentures and a dental implant in San Luis Obispo should schedule a free consultation with one of our SLO Smiles dental implant experts.
The Novodontics method was invented by world-renowned oral implantologist Dr. Louie Al-Faraje, founder of the California Implant Institute. Novodontics is a proprietary form of tooth replacement procedure that involves removing any remaining teeth in the upper or lower jaw and placing four to eight proprietary implants in the bone.
A fixed prosthetic that looks and feels like a full set of natural teeth is then attached to the implants. The teeth can be delivered in time for the surgery. This means that once the implants are placed, you can leave with permanent teeth the same day.
Novadontics smiles are made with the highest-quality Nobel Biocare implants and all prostheses are manufactured used the latest in computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology and high-tech dental materials for a smile designed to last a lifetime.
At SLO Smiles we offer financing options to ensure you get the care you need.
Missing teeth can lead to serious problems of the mouth, including the loss of other teeth, bone deterioration, shifting teeth, and other issues. By investing in dental implants, you can improve the overall health of your mouth, save money over the long run, and get a big boost of confidence by showcasing your beautiful new smile.
Regular dentures rest on top of your gums, which can lead to bone deterioration of the jaw. This bone deterioration can cause complications such as loose fit, slipping, or clicking sounds.
Implant supported dentures are anchored to permanent dental implants in the mouth. This type of denture is most often used in the lower jaw where removable dentures are less stable, but they can be used in the upper jaw as well.
Implant supported dentures are snapped into place on top of dental implants. This provides a secure fit and hold, eliminating looseness or slipping without the need for paste or adhesives.
Implant supported dentures are designed so that they can be removed for regular cleaning, or you can opt for fixed implant supported dentures, which function as permanent teeth.
If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact us today. We look forward to providing you with the personal care you deserve.
Have Missing Teeth? All-on-4™ in San Luis Obispo May Be Your Solution!If you are missing multiple teeth and cannot consider an individual dental implant procedure because of bone loss or lowered bone density, the All-on-4™ procedure may be the ideal treatment for your needs. The All-on-4™ technique is specifically designed to use a minimum of four implants. All-on-4™ implants do not typically require bone grafting, so they are an ideal solution for patients with areas of low bone volume.
This solution maximizes the bone that is available so your SLO Smiles dentist can create implant dentures that look great and work the very first day.
It is common to experience bone loss around the teeth as a result of progressive disease, infection or trauma. However, bone loss can limit our ability to restore your smile using methods like dental implants or implant supported dentures. At SLO Smiles, we offer bone augmentation and bone grafting procedures to replace lost bone. Bone grafting can also restore the proper facial contours where bone is missing in the font of the mouth.
Without the tooth in place to stimulate the jawbone, the bone around the missing tooth will begin to deteriorate. In some cases, bone grafting may be necessary before a patient can undergo a tooth replacement procedure such as dental implants.
This is where bone is taken from one part of the patient’s body (such as the chin region) and transplanted to the mouth.
During allograft bone grafting, human bone from cadavers is used instead of the patient’s own bone.
For this type of bone graft, nonhuman bone such as bovine is utilized to eliminate the need to two surgery sites. For those people, an allograft or xenograft procedure may be a better choice.
Only a thorough examination with Dr. Mark Leopold, Dr. Nicholas Murphy, Dr. Craig Main, Dr. Ian Leopold, or Dr. Sienella Thomaszadeh can determine if you are an ideal candidate for a bone graft for aesthetic reasons or prior to the placement of dental implants. Please call us to schedule your appointment.
Periodontal or gum disease causes bone loss around teeth, which can increase the chances for tooth loss. Once a tooth has been lost, the supporting jaw bone has a tendency to disappear over time. This may make wearing dentures uncomfortable, and insufficient bone can render placing dental implants impossible. However, your SLO Smiles dentist can now provide simple techniques to regrow lost bone, provide support for dental implants, or to improve the esthetics beneath a fixed bridge.
Guided tissue bone regeneration does not always require the removal of bone from any other part of the body. Our SLO Smiles dentists can use membrane barriers, tissue stimulating proteins, or bioactive growth factor gels. The goal of each of these treatment options is to stimulate the body to grow new bone or to hold the space for the bone to regenerate into.
If you have lost bone due to missing teeth or gum disease, your SLO Smiles Dentist can help. Call us today for a consultation.
Patients who have lost teeth in the upper premolar or molar areas of the jaw often require a sinus lift, or sinus augmentation before they can get dental implants. As a result of bone loss, the sinuses can expand to occupy the empty space where the bone used to be. With insufficient bone to securely place a dental implant, a sinus lift is necessary to move the sinus away from the roots of the teeth or to create additional bone in the area.
During a sinus lift, the patient is given a local anesthetic. We will then begin one of two methods to either surgically “lift” the sinus so that it is in a better place and enables the opportunity for a space to add a bone graft, or to graft bone directly to the sinus floor (in which case the sinus is not “lifted”, per se, but does lift as the bone grows). Over time, the bone that is grafted will begin to fill in the space and eventually be able to support a dental implant.
Patients who undergo sinus lifts are required to wait up to nine months for dental implant placement. This delay gives their bodies time to heal from the surgery, as well as for the bone to fill in. Some people who have a sinus lift may be able to receive dental implants as soon as four months after the surgery. However, this varies on a case by case basis.
If you would like more information about dental implants, bone grafts, or a sinus lift, call today to schedule your appointment with one of our dentists.
Call (805) 541-0550