Dental Implants In Wilmington

Replace Missing Teeth Permanently

Dental Implants

The science and technology of dental implants have revolutionized the field of dentistry. Before dental implants were an option, a patient could only replace missing teeth with dentures, which don’t offer the permanence or stability of an artificial tooth root. If you are missing one or more teeth, Wilmington dental implant specialist Dr. Friberg can give you your smile back and preserve your oral health with beautifully-crafted dental implants.

Thrive Family Dental offers restorative dentistry options in Wilmington to help you regain your oral health and get you smiling again! Contact our practice today to schedule your dental implant appointment.

Wilmington Dental Implant Resources

The Dental Implant Placement & Restoration Process In Wilmington

How Long Do Dental Implants Last?

Single Tooth Dental Implants

What Is The Success Rate Of Dental Implants?

Will My Lifestyle Need To Change If I Get Dental Implants?

Am I A Good Candidate For Dental Implants?

The Dental Implant Placement & Restoration Process in Wilmington

The entire dental implant process usually takes around 3-6 months, but typically only requires two appointments. At your first appointment, Dr. Friberg will clean and numb the treatment area, and create a small opening in your gums and jaw bone. Then, the dental implant will be placed inside the opening, and the area will be cleaned and sutured shut. After this, you’ll be sent home to heal.

The surgical site usually heals in just a few weeks, but the process of osseointegration, which bonds the implant permanently to your gum and jaw bone, can take between 3-6 months. During this time, Dr. Friberg will design your custom dental crown. This crown will be permanently attached to the implant once osseointegration is complete, and when it is affixed, it will look and feel just like a natural tooth.

How Long Do Dental Implants Last?

Dental implants will last you for the rest of your life with proper care. The titanium post used to create implants will permanently bond with your jaw tissue and gum tissue, and if this “osseointegration” is successful, it will essentially become a natural part of your body.
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As long as you brush and floss properly to keep your mouth healthy and you see Dr. Friberg for oral exams and teeth cleanings every six months, your implant will continue to remain strong and healthy for decades to come.
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However, it is important to note that this does not necessarily include the lifespan of the dental implant restoration. The restoration, such as a dental crown for a single-tooth implant, is subjected to a lot more wear & tear. It may need to be replaced throughout the lifespan of your dental implant to make sure your smile stays beautiful and functional. 

During each six-month consultation at Thrive Family Dental, Dr. Friberg will check your implant restoration to see if it requires replacement. If your restoration needs to be replaced because it’s worn out, it’s easy to remove it and replace it with a fast, non-surgical procedure.

Single Tooth dental Implants

Single tooth implants are the most common type of dental implant. In fact, they are so common that the term “dental implant” is often used as a synonym for a single tooth implant. However, an implant is actually the small, screw-shaped post of titanium that is placed into a patient’s gum and jaw bone to mimic a natural tooth root. Titanium is used for implants because it has the unique ability to “osseointegrate” and bond permanently with your bone and oral tissue.

Once the process of healing and osseointegration is complete, Wilmington, NC dentist Dr. Friberg will create a dental crown (false tooth) that attaches permanently to your implant. This two-part restoration is designed to look and feel completely natural, and they can easily last 30+ years with proper care. If you want to replace missing teeth with a permanent option, call us today at (910) 240-4797 to schedule a consultation.

What Is The Success Rate Of Dental Implants?

Thanks to modern implant technology, dental implants have an extraordinarily high success rate. After 2 years, implants have a success rate of between 93-95%. Most incredibly, this rate does not change much over time. The 20-year success rate of dental implants is still over 90%, meaning if you take proper care of your implants, they’re likely to last you for the rest of your life.
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While there are some complications that can affect you while you heal and recover from dental implants, your implant procedure is likely to be successful both in the short term and the long term, thanks to the advanced technology and surgical techniques used by Dr. Ben Friberg at Thrive Family Dental.

Will My Lifestyle Need To Change
If I get Implants?

The only major lifestyle change you may need to make is to cease smoking and oral tobacco use of any kind. Using tobacco has a significant negative effect on the healing and osseointegration process, and is likely to lead to problems like “peri-implantitis,” an infection of the gum tissue surrounding your dental implant.
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If you smoke, you should stop before you get dental implants, and you should never use tobacco again after you get implants. If you resume tobacco use after your implants heal, you may dramatically shorten their lifespan, and you’ll also have a higher risk of cancers like lung cancer and mouth cancer.
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Beyond this, your lifestyle will not need to change. If you get single-tooth implants from Dr. Friberg at Thrive Family Dental, you can treat them just like natural teeth. Just brush twice a day for two minutes, floss once a day, and don’t forget to come into our office every six months for a quick exam and teeth cleaning. That’s all you have to do to keep your smile healthy and strong after you get implants in Wilmington.

Am I A Good Candidate For Dental Implants?