A traditional dental implant is placed over the course of two surgeries. In the first surgery, the surgeon will cut open the gum at the point where the implant is being placed. The surgeon will then drill a hole deep into the jawbone and embed the implant. The gum is then closed over the implant. In the second surgery, the gum is cut back open to expose the implant and then an abutment is attached to the implant. After a few weeks of healing, a crown will be attached to the abutment. There is also a type of dental implant that is available that already has the abutment attached to the implant. For those implants, only the first placement surgery is required.
Mini dental implants are another dental implant option available to patients. Mini dental implants are also made of titanium and offer many of the same advantages as traditional implants. The big advantage of mini dental implants is that less jawbone is required in order to support them. Also, the placement procedure is far less invasive and requires very little recovery time.
If you are interested in learning which dental implant option is right for you, contact our dental implants doctor in Beverly Hills to schedule a consultation.