Implants

Dental implants are today’s most advanced solution to missing teeth. The procedure involves the placement of a replacement tooth (crown) over an implant (artificial tooth root). Implants can also be used to support full or partial dentures, dramatically improving denture retention and stability. Excellent success rates and a range of available options give Dr. Vitucci a variety of new ways to treat and replace lost teeth.

Dr. Vitucci will evaluate your case and tell you if you are a candidate for dental implants.  Most patients with adequate bone mass can have implants, although it varies among individuals. To determine if you have enough bone to place the implant, as well as to verify the size and kind of implant that should be placed an x-ray and CT-scan are performed.

Benefits of Dental Implants

When compared to fixed bridges and removable dentures supported by other teeth or gum tissue, implants offer numerous advantages:

1. Better esthetics:

Implants offer a more realistic and natural look compared to other alternatives because they are placed in the gum similar to the way a natural tooth is supported.

2. Reduction of bone resorption:

Losing a tooth will cause the supporting bone structure to gradually recede. Placing an implant in that empty space significantly reduces the speed of bone resorption and provides stability for this valuable tissue.

3. Retention:

Patients who have experienced removable full or partial dentures know that keeping their dentures in place is always a challenge. Dental implants offer a great improvement to denture retention for all patients. Doctor Vitucci can secure a denture to a group of implants with special screws or attachments that stabilize the denture completely.

4. Preserving natural tooth structure:

Often the preferred method of replacing a single missing tooth is a bridge. Bridges require extra preparation for the surrounding teeth to ultimately connect 3 or more teeth. This negatively impacts your health by making the task of retaining your teeth more difficult and by often requiring the destruction of existing tooth structure to create room for the new bridge. An implant is mostly an independent unit and does not negatively affect the adjacent teeth.