One of the most common tooth replacement methods around is dental implant treatment. Using these titanium screws, an implant dentist will replace your missing tooth at the root, securing your artificial teeth to your jawbone. In doing so, they provide an incredibly stable tooth replacement, allowing you to chew and function like you would with natural teeth. But there are a few different implant options to choose from, making some patients underprepared and overwhelmed at implant consultations. At Sonora Dentist, we offer innovative one-piece dental implants that make restoring your smile easier and less expensive. Book a free consultation with us in Sonora, CA, to learn if you’re eligible!
What Are One Piece Dental Implants?
One-piece dental implants are exactly what they sound like: dental implants that come in one piece.
Most other types of implants have a multi-piece structure split into three parts:
- The screw (or implant body)
- The abutment (or connector piece)
- The smaller screw (or what holds it all together)
The implant body is placed inside your jawbone, where it integrates with your bone over time to create a stable connection. Then the abutment is attached and secured in place with a tiny screw that holds your implant together.
However, implants with multiple parts have disadvantages that some patients can’t ignore. Not only are they typically more expensive, but they also require several appointments and surgeries for placement.
Fortunately, one-piece dental implants help eliminate those concerns thanks to their unique build! Rather than the implant body, abutment, and screw coming as separate pieces, a one-piece implant comes as a single titanium post with all parts already connected.
The Advantages of One-Piece Dental Implants
One-piece dental implants come with several advantages over multi-piece implants. These include:
- Fewer appointments: Placing an implant with multiple parts usually takes months. Each component requires a separate appointment between periods of healing, and the surgery is typically more involved than one-piece implant treatment. Overall, you may end up spending a lot of time at the dentist. In contrast, one-piece dental implants are placed in a single appointment.
- Faster results: Because the multi-piece implant procedure requires ample healing time, the treatment takes 4 to 6 months, not including any preparatory procedures. One-piece dental implants take only one appointment, and typically heal faster than their conventional counterparts. Rather than waiting months to restore your smile, one-piece implants allow you to replace missing teeth much more quickly. Depending on the type of implant, your treatment may even be completed in just a few weeks!
- More affordable: With fewer appointments and components to pay for, one-piece dental implants are typically less expensive than multi-piece dental implants. In some cases, your one-piece implant may even be half the price of a conventional implant.
Protecting Against Peri-Implantitis
Another incredible benefit of one-piece dental implants is that they help protect against peri-implantitis.
Peri-implantitis is an inflammatory condition that impacts the oral tissues around an implant, such as the gum and bone. Some people refer to it as gum disease for dental implants because it has a similar effect.
When plaque and bacteria accumulate on the surface of the implant, they will slowly infect the tissues surrounding the implant screw. This infection deteriorates gum and bone tissue, and, without treatment, can compromise the stability of your implant!
Certain factors make you more at risk for peri-implantitis, like poor oral hygiene or smoking, but an important factor patients may not consider is the type of implant they have.
Conventional multi-piece implants have small spaces in between parts, called microgaps. Even when your implant is perfectly secure, these gaps persist and may become hotspots for bacterial buildup. With proper hygiene, you should be able to keep these areas clean, but that’s not the case for everyone. Some patients struggle with dental hygiene or are genetically predisposed to developing gum disease.
Once the infection begins, it will continue to spread and deteriorate tissues, potentially contributing to implant failure.
But with one-piece dental implants, we eliminate the gap where bacteria hide! Because these titanium posts come in one piece, they are seamless, preventing bacterial buildup. Of course, peri-implantitis is still possible with one-piece implants, but it’s much less likely, especially with proper hygiene.
Find One-Piece Dental Implants in Sonora, CA
Dental implants come in all shapes and sizes, which can make implant treatment seem overwhelming. But at Sonora Dentist, we offer one-piece dental implants for the best possible results, eliminating the need for multiple appointments and pieces. Instead, we place one-piece implants in just one appointment at a more affordable price. Additionally, these implants help protect against peri-implantitis, as they don’t have microgaps that collect bacteria.
To learn if you’re eligible for one-piece dental implant treatment, book a free consultation at Sonora Dentist today!
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