Dental Implants
Functional, Aesthetic Replacement for Missing Teeth
Missing teeth can disrupt the function and aesthetics of your smile and make it difficult to eat or speak comfortably. Because they closely replicate the function and feel of a natural tooth root, Dr. Todd Fincher offers dental implants as the gold standard for replacing lost teeth.
The doctor uses advanced imaging to create detailed treatment plans and reduce the amount of time you spend in surgery. Together with his nurse anesthesiologist, he can also perform intravenous (IV) conscious sedation to minimize discomfort and expedite recovery. We can also restore your new implants at our offices in Greenwood, MS, and Columbus, so that you receive treatment from the same doctor from start to finish.
We Pair Knowledge and Technology to Place Dental Implants
Dr. Todd Fincher and his team have undergone rigorous training to place dental implants--titanium screws that attach crowns, bridges, and dentures directly to your jawbone. Dental implants can be used to replace a missing tooth due to trauma, gum disease, or a necessary extraction. We perform dental implant treatment from start to finish in our office, allowing you to get the treatment you need to achieve your best oral health in one place.
What are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are biocompatible, titanium screws that are placed into your jawbone during oral surgery. They serve as artificial tooth roots and support custom crowns, bridges, or dentures while also providing regenerative signals to the jaw. Dr. Fincher offers numerous implant options to restore anything from a single tooth to full arches. With proper care, good oral hygiene, and frequent visits to the dentist, most patients can enjoy the benefits of dental implants for a lifetime.
Are You a Good Candidate?
For many years, dental implants were restricted to patients who had enough jawbone tissue and met various other requirements. But thanks to advancements in dental technology, virtually any patient can qualify for dental implants as long as they meet certain requirements.
Sufficient Jawbone Density
After tooth loss, the jawbone naturally begins to recede around the location of the missing tooth. Although bone loss previously prevented patients from getting dental implants, Dr. Fincher offers bone grafting and sinus lifts to restore your candidacy. These two treatments are designed to add volume and density to areas where bone loss has occurred, giving dental implants a stable, secure foundation. For patients who want to forego bone augmentation but need to replace a full arch of missing teeth, we also offer All-on-4® treatment.
Healthy Lifestyle
Because dental implants are placed in a surgical procedure, you must be healthy enough to undergo surgery. If you have a complicated medical history, be sure to discuss this with Dr. Fincher. Smokers should be aware that smoking has been linked to an increased risk of surgical complications and implant failure. Therefore, you should do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle and refrain from tobacco if you are considering implants.
Approximately 90 percent of our patients choose custom abutments for their lifelike aesthetics.
Oral Health
Before undergoing implant surgery, you should be in good oral health. Dr. Fincher can treat gum disease and cavities to give your smile a healthy start before surgery.
What Makes Our Treatment Unique
Dr. Fincher utilizes advanced in-office technology to plan and perform your dental implant procedure. If necessary, he can use computed tomography imaging on a GALILEOS® Comfort Plus cone beam scanner to assess the quality of the bone tissue and prepare for surgery. Dr. Fincher also uses the Sirona SICAT surgical guide to precisely place implants for certain patients. We also use Nobel Biocare® products exclusively and can place and restore All-on-4 implants in a single appointment.
Types of Dental Implants
Because every patient is different, we offer a number of different types of dental implants to meet your needs, including:
- Traditional dental implants: We offer standard size implants made from biocompatible titanium or natural-looking ceramic.
- All-on-4: Rather than a type of implant, All-on-4 is a type of implant treatment developed by Nobel Biocare. Its goal is to replace an entire arch of teeth using only four implant posts, two of which are placed at a 45-degree angle for maximum use of your bone tissue. This minimizes the cost and recovery time otherwise needed to replace multiple teeth.
- Mini dental implants: Although we prefer using traditional implants for most patients, we also offer mini dental implants that are a smaller, more conservative option available for certain cases.
Tooth-colored abutments which can be customized to your unique smile. Approximately 90 percent of our patients choose custom abutments for their lifelike aesthetics.
A Durable and Stable Replacement
What to Expect During Placement
During your consultation, Dr. Fincher will examine your jaw to determine whether you have enough bone to support dental implants. If you do not, we can perform a bone graft or sinus lift at our office or coordinate with a local oral surgeon to do so. If you do, we can schedule your placement surgery.
Dr. Todd Fincher offers dental implants as the gold standard for replacing lost teeth.
On the day of surgery, Dr. Fincher will create a minor incision in your gums through which to place the implants. With the help of a 3-D surgical guide, he can reduce the size of the incision to expedite your treatment time, shorten your recovery, and minimize your risk of complications.
Over the course of the next four to six months, the titanium implants will fuse with your jawbone. Once your implants are fully healed, you can receive your permanent custom restoration.
The Benefits After Surgery
No matter what type of implant treatment you decide to undergo, this restoration offers a myriad of benefits, such as:
- Unparalleled durability: Dental implants are built to last a lifetime and with proper care, they can. Although the crowns, bridges, or dentures that top your implants will eventually need to be replaced, dental implants themselves have shown impressive long-term success rates and may never need to be replaced.
- Jawbone support: Other restorative treatments for missing teeth do not prevent jawbone recession. But dental implants act like tooth roots and send regenerative signals to your bone tissue each time you chew, keeping it strong and healthy.
- Improved confidence: If you previously covered your smile to hide missing teeth, dental implants can truly change your life. Replacing missing teeth can restore balance to your smile, rejuvenate your facial features, and help you feel more confident in your social and professional relationships.
Build a Stronger Smile
By leaving missing teeth untreated, you increase your risk of oral health issues, shifting teeth, and jawbone degeneration. Dental implants can help you maintain a healthy smile and youthful facial features for years to come. Start your reconstructive treatment by calling our Greenwood location at (662) 453-1708, contacting our Columbus office at (662) 328-1825, or submitting an online contact form.
