Dental Implants – Wilmington, IL

Day-to-Day Benefits

• Eat all types of foods easily: While traditional tooth replacement options can feel loose and only restore 30% or so of your biting power, dental implants are held firmly in place via osseointegration. They will help you achieve 80% or more of your chewing force, allowing you to easily eat all your favorite foods once again.
• Easy daily maintenance: Dental implants can be cared for just like natural teeth. While dentures and dental bridges need special cleaning materials and tools, simply brushing and flossing your dental implant regularly will keep it looking and feeling its best.
• Improved quality of life: Denture-wearers often complain about feeling insecure about their smiles due to slippage. Since dental implants are firmly anchored in the jawbone, you can eat, speak, laugh, and go about your day-to-day life with the utmost confidence.

Health Benefits

• Improved oral health: Dental implants encourage better oral health. Since they are easier to keep clean, they can help reduce your risk of problems like tooth decay and gum disease.
• Preserve natural tooth structure: Dental bridges require alternating remaining healthy teeth and partial dentures can wear down enamel. Dental implants are completely self-supporting and leave the surrounding teeth untouched.
• Jawbone stimulation: Dental implants are the only tooth replacement option to replace the roots of a missing tooth, and as such are the only one to stimulate the jawbone after tooth loss. This prevents deterioration, which is what accounts for the sunken, aged look that so often accompanies losing permanent teeth. Keeping the jawbone strong will also solidify the foundation around your remaining teeth, helping you prevent future tooth loss.

Long-Term Benefits

• Extremely high success rates: When placed by a highly trained and experienced professional, dental implants have a success rate of 95%. Studies show that more than 90% of dental implants remain successful 10 years after placement.
• Dental implants last for decades: While dentures and dental bridges need to be replaced after 10 years or so, dental implants are designed to last for decades. In fact, with the proper care, most patients can easily expect their dental implants to last a lifetime!
• Save thousands of dollars in the long run: Dentures and dental implants have a substantially lower initial cost than dental implants. However, you’ll need to pay for replacements every several years as well as extra cleaning tools and oral health treatments. On the other hand, not only will dental implants lower the overall cost of caring for your smile, but they have the potential to last a lifetime, which can save you thousands of dollars in replacements alone!

How Long Do Dental Implants Last?

If you take good care of your dental implants, you can most likely expect your new teeth to last for upwards of 30 years. Many patients have even gone on to keep their implants for the rest of their lives! Of course, the lifespan of your implants will depend on your dedication to keeping them in great condition. Your implant dentist in Wilmington will ensure that you’re well-informed of the steps you can take to make your new smile stand the test of time, such as daily oral hygiene, a healthy diet, and regular dental checkups.

How Successful Are Dental Implants?

As long as you find a highly qualified professional to place your implants – such as our in-house periodontist, Dr. John Micaletti – then you can almost always count on a successful treatment. In fact, surgical dental implant placement has a success rate as high as 95%. Even after 10 years, the success rate drops less than 5% from that, if at all.

It should come as no surprise that the long-term success of your implants varies based on how well you take care of your oral and overall health. Our doctors will gladly provide you with tips to help!

Am I Too Young to Get Dental Implants?

Generally speaking, dental implants are not recommended for patients who have not yet reached their mid to late twenties. The jawbone might not be finished developing until that age range, so placing implants before then could result in severe complications. For that reason, we recommend that, if you’re in your late teens or early twenties and are interested in tooth replacement, you consider seeking alternative options. This may involve wearing a partial denture or bridge, or simply leaving the gap empty, until your mouth and jaw are fully developed and ready to support dental implants.

Will I Have to Take Off Work for Dental Implant Surgery?

Yes, we highly recommend taking off from work the day of your dental implant surgery. However, the number of days you’ll want to stay home after that can vary. For example, if you’re only receiving a single implant and work a fairly sedentary job, you might feel well enough to return to work the very next day. On the other hand, if you’re getting multiple implants placed at once, or your job requires physical labor, it’s best to spend the next two or three days recovering (rigorous exercise can impede the healing process). We might suggest scheduling your dental implant procedure on a Friday if you’re worried about missing work (if you get the weekends off). That way, you’ll have Saturday and Sunday to recover.