Making smiles “whole” again: Dental implants to replace all of the upper and lower teeth
The upper or lower dental arch refers to the curved parts of the jaw that house your teeth. Over time, patients may experience tooth loss and never fill those gaps in their smile. Or, they may hold on to many aching, failing teeth. Very few healthy teeth may be left in the upper/lower jaws. So, the ability to replace all of these teeth at the offices of Associates for Oral, Maxillofacial & Implant Surgery is incredibly rewarding. Our Chicago, Illinois, area teams love to see patients smile comfortably and proudly again after years of hiding their broken, aching, and missing teeth.
How do you replace so many teeth at once?
As Board-certified specialists in oral and maxillofacial surgery, we have access to the latest knowledge and technologies to rebuild your smile. Dental implants are a particularly multi-faceted way to rebuild teeth. They can be inserted in the jawbone and secured to retain one tooth or dental crown, a few teeth as part of an implant-retained bridge, or many or all teeth in the upper or lower jaw as dentures.
How do implants support teeth?
Think of the implant as a tooth root. Your natural teeth are held in the jaw by roots. The implant is designed to replace those tooth roots. Once it has integrated with the natural tissues in the jaw, the implant can function as a root to stabilize the prosthetic tooth.
How many implants may be needed to replace the upper or lower jaw teeth?
Using sophisticated technologies and techniques, we can introduce a minimal number of implants to support a maximum number of replacement teeth. We may apply as few as four to six implants in the jawbone to retain your upper or lower denture. These implants largely hold 10 to 14 teeth within the denture in place. Of course, there are many variables to consider. These factors range from the size to the shape of the jaw. So, you may require more (or less) implants than another patient seeking implant-retained dentures to rebuild their smile.
Does it take a long time to get my new teeth?
No. The longest phase of this process is generally osseointegration – where the jawbone and the implant fuse together naturally and safely. This step can take several months. But that doesn’t mean you must go without teeth for a while as the implant heals. We offer teeth-in-a-day or immediate implant services. These services may involve placing a provisional or temporary denture as the implants integrate. Later on, permanent dentures will be made and applied. So, the denture can then conform optimally to your healed tissues.
How do these dentures compare to conventional ones?
There is no comparison for many patients at Associates for Oral, Maxillofacial & Implant Surgery! These dentures won’t slide around in your mouth because they are connected to the jawbone through the implants. This provides the ultimate comfort, good chewing and speech function, and patient satisfaction – and this is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the benefits of implant dentures. To find out more, contact our teams in Mount Prospect, Bartlett, Elk Grove Village, and Chicago, IL, standing by at (847) 255-7080, (630) 289-5002, (847) 593-0535, and (773) 736-3300, respectively.
