Dental Implants – San Ramon, CA

An Advanced Solution for Tooth Replacement

The best choice for replacing missing teeth isn’t necessarily the same for every patient. That being said, dental implants are often highly recommended for filling any gaps in your grin – regardless of how many teeth are missing. Unlike traditional dentures and bridges, dental implants can act like new tooth roots. As such, they offer all kinds of benefits that you wouldn’t be able to enjoy otherwise. You can find out more about dental implants in San Ramon – and whether they’re right for you – by calling to set up a consultation at Gale Ranch Family Dental.

Why Choose Gale Ranch Family Dental for Dental Implants?

  • Entire Dental Implant Process Handled In-House
  • Cone Beam Scanner for Accurate Placement
  • Team That Cares About Customer Service

What Are Dental Implants?

Illustrated dental implant in San Ramon being placed into the lower jaw

The most common type of dental implants is endosteal implants. They are intended to be placed in the jaw, and as such they are typically made out of titanium, a metal known for its ability to join with bone tissue. Dental implants are very sturdy compared to other forms of tooth replacement, and they can prevent your new teeth from slipping at inopportune moments. A metal connector piece called an abutment is used to attach the final crown, bridge, or denture to your dental implant(s).

The 4-Step Dental Implant Process

Illustrated model of a dental implant with a dental crown being placed

There are four major steps that we always follow when it comes to restoring smiles with dental implants. The process as a whole can take multiple months, but the results are well worth it. Here’s a brief outline of what to expect:

  • During an initial consultation at our office, our team will check to see how many teeth need to be replaced and confirm that you meet the requirements for dental implant surgery. We will put together a treatment plan based on our findings. Said plan may include any preliminary treatments that are required to prepare the mouth for implants; bone grafting and gum disease therapy are some particularly common examples.
  • The dental implant posts will be surgically inserted into your jawbone. We’ll use a cone beam scanner to make sure that the posts are placed in precisely the right locations so that we can avoid complications.
  • The osseointegration process (which takes about 3 to 6 months in many cases) will allow your dental implants to fuse with your jaw. We can attach abutments to each implant post once osseointegration is complete.
  • The last step is to design a fully personalized crown, bridge, or denture that resembles your natural teeth as closely as possible. The final restoration will be carefully attached to your implants during one last appointment.

Benefits of Dental Implants

Dentist holding a dental crown in one hand and a dental implant model in the other

Part of the reason why more and more people are turning to dental implants as a tooth replacement option is because they offer a wide number of advantages, such as the following:

  • You will likely feel more confident once the gaps in your smile have been filled.
  • You will not have to worry about your new teeth slipping or shifting by accident.
  • You will be able to chew all kinds of foods, allowing you to maintain a more nutritious diet.
  • The dental implant posts will stimulate your jaw, which stops the bone deterioration that usually happens when teeth are missing.

Who Dental Implants Can Help

Senior dental patient admiring her smile in mirror

A knowledgeable dental expert can tell you whether or not dental implants are an option worth pursuing in your specific case. Most adults who have an adequate amount of bone in their jaws are able to have dental implants placed (assuming they’re also in good oral health in general). The implant placement process will be personalized based on the number of teeth missing: here’s a brief look at the various tooth loss situations they can help with.

Missing One Tooth

Illustrated dental crown being placed onto a dental implant

Losing a tooth is more than just a cosmetic problem; you should fill the gap as soon as possible even if it’s in a place where no one besides you and your dentist will ever see it. After we insert a dental implant in the empty space and give it time to join with the bone, we will eventually be able to attach a crown made from lifelike tooth-colored materials.

Missing Multiple Teeth

Illustrated dental bridge being placed onto two dental implants

After losing three or more consecutive teeth, you may worry that you’ll need to get the same number of dental implant posts to completely fill in the gap. In many cases, though, only two posts are necessary. We can simply attach a bridge to said posts in order to replace multiple teeth at once. One advantage of an implant bridge is that we don’t have to remove any enamel from the natural teeth you still have in order to place it.

Missing All of Your Teeth

Illustrated denture being placed onto six dental implants

As alarming as the idea of losing all of your teeth may be, it is possible to fully restore your smile from the roots up thanks to implant dentures. In some cases, implant dentures are made to be removable. However, many patients prefer them to be permanently anchored to the mouth; that way, they never have to worry about removing their new teeth for cleanings.

Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants

Woman handing a payment card to a dental office receptionist

You’ll need to speak to our team in order to get an estimate of how much your dental implants will cost, but you can generally expect to pay more upfront than you would for a traditional bridge or denture. That being said, as long as you do a good job of protecting and maintaining your dental implants, you can expect them to last for decades at a time, meaning you don’t need to worry about paying for new ones very often.