Dental Implants - White Oak Dental - Restorative Dental Solutions

Dental Implants | Avenel & Woodbridge Township

Stop Missing Your Teeth

With dental implants from White Oak Dental & Orthodontics, you won’t just feel like you’ve replaced your missing teeth — you’ll feel like you’ve restored your natural smile and bite.

If you’re ready to put your tooth loss behind you permanently, dental implants at our Avenel office are the solution you’re looking for.

What Are Dental Implants?

A dental implant is a prosthetic tooth root made of titanium that Dr. Aquino places directly into your jawbone. The implant melds with, or joins, the surrounding tissue through osseointegration.

This just means that the implant and your tissue bond naturally to form a healthy load-bearing structure to support your new crown, bridge, or denture.

Currently, implants are the only treatment that restores both the roots and crowns of your teeth. At White Oak Dental & Orthodontics, Dr. Aquino and our expert team use the most reliable, durable, and aesthetically attractive techniques and materials to ensure your dental implant will be both fully functional and natural-looking.

How Dental Implants Work

The process of getting dental implants takes longer than other, more traditional options like dentures and bridges. However, as a permanent solution for your tooth loss, implants are worth the wait.

At White Oak Dental & Orthodontics, you don’t need to worry about visiting a separate specialist for different phases of the treatment. Dr. Alvin Aquino has completed advanced training in dental implant placement, allowing him to complete every step of the process right here in our Avenel dental office.

Below, you’ll find a basic, four-step outline of what to expect when getting dental implants.

1. Your Initial Consultation

The long-term success of your dental implants begins before we ever place your implants — at your initial consultation with Dr. Aquino.

During this appointment, Dr. Aquino will:

Examine your mouth and jaw
Evaluate the state of your oral health
Go over your tooth replacement options

Good dental implant candidates need to have a healthy mouth and a strong jawbone to support the posts. If you don’t initially meet these criteria, we can often fix that with one or more preparatory treatments, such as bone grafting.

2. Dental Implant Surgery

Once Dr. Aquino has given you the green light to move forward, we can schedule your implant placement surgery.

Thanks to Dr. Aquino’s expertise, you can get this procedure done in the same building and with the same team you already know and trust rather than seeing an outside oral surgeon.

Here’s what your procedure will typically go:

We’ll start by numbing your mouth and jaw. This way, you can expect a completely comfortable, even painless, procedure.
Next, we’ll create tiny incisions in your gum tissue. These nearly invisible incisions allow us access to your jawbone.
Then, we’ll insert the implants at precise locations and angles. This positioning is based on the images we’ve taken of your jawbone.
Finally, we’ll seal up the gum tissue. At this point, we’ll also place protective caps over the implant posts and send you home to begin the healing — and the osseointegration — process.

3. Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment

Next comes osseointegration. This near-magical process — where the jawbone grows naturally around the implant posts — is responsible for the incredible benefits of dental implants.

This process typically takes between four and six months on average to complete. Once we’ve determined that your implants have sufficiently merged with your jaw, we’ll perform a second oral surgery.

This operation will involve reopening your gum tissue and attaching metal connectors called abutments onto the implants. These connections are what ensure that your restorations stay in place.

4. Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration

Recovering from your abutment placement should only take a few weeks. During this time, a dental lab will be hard at work designing your brand-new dental crown, bridge, or denture.

Once you and your replacement teeth are ready, you’ll return to our dental office, and we’ll complete your smile by attaching your restorations to your abutments.

Benefits of Dental Implants

Dental implants are considered the gold standard of tooth replacement. Dentists highly recommend oral health miracles, placing over 500,000 implants annually.

But why are dental implants so beneficial? Thanks to their unique placement inside the jawbone, they offer a range of advantages that you simply can’t get with other options like removable dentures and dental bridges.

Let’s take a closer look at the health and lifestyle benefits of dental implants.

Day-to-Day Benefits

Many denture wearers claim that their removable prosthetic limits their ability to enjoy life to the fullest.

With dental implants, you don’t have to worry about your permanent prosthetics affecting your day-to-day routine.

You can look forward to these incredible benefits:

Regained Ability to Eat Most Foods

Since dental implants replace the entire missing tooth structure from the root up to the chewing surface, they provide stability unlike any other tooth-replacement solution. Because of their unique placement, they’re able to withstand the chewing of virtually any food!

Easy Maintenance

With dental implants, you don’t have to worry about incorporating complex steps into your oral hygiene routine. All you need to do is brush, floss, and rinse like you would with natural teeth.

Practicing good oral hygiene and investing in routine dental appointments will ensure your newly rebuilt smile stays in its very best shape for years to come.

Increased Confidence

Unlike dentures, implants won’t move at all once they’re firmly rooted in place. That means you can eat, speak, and smile with complete confidence once again!

Health Benefits

One of the advantages of dental implants is that they offer benefits beyond appearance. Here are just a few health benefits you can look forward to:

Jawbone Preservation

Because dental implants are surgically inserted into the jawbone, they provide it with internal support to prevent its deterioration. That means your implants can help maintain the overall shape of your face for years to come!

Protection for Natural Teeth

It’s very common for your teeth to shift after tooth loss. Fortunately, implants serve as a placeholder to ensure every tooth stays exactly where it belongs.

Improved Overall Health

Studies have revealed a correlation between tooth loss and an increased risk of multiple diseases. Since dental implants are extremely similar to natural teeth, it’s safe to assume that they can help lower such risks.

Long-Term Benefits

If you choose to get dental implants, you can expect to enjoy several long-term benefits, including:

High Success Rate

Believe it or not, dental implants have an impressive success rate of about 90 – 95% — even 20 years after they’ve been placed!

Youthful Appearance

Because implants stimulate blood flow in your jawbone, they help prevent the sunken, aged appearance that often accompanies tooth loss.

Long Lifespan

Unlike dentures and dental bridges, implants can last for several decades without needing a replacement!

All-on-X Dental Implants

If you’re missing an entire arch of teeth but want to restore your smile and bite quickly, then you may benefit from our convenient, streamlined All-on-X implant dentures.

All-on-X is a minimally invasive procedure that uses four to eight implants to replace multiple missing or damaged teeth at the same time.

Learn More

Dental Implant FAQs

It’s normal to have questions about a surgical procedure like dental implants. At White Oak Dental & Orthodontics, our expert team is happy to help you get the answers you need.

Keep reading to find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about dental implants.

How long do dental implants last?

One of the biggest perks of dental implants is that they can last for several decades. Of course, their success in the short and long term rests heavily on how well you care for them.

Good habits — such as brushing twice a day, flossing daily, and visiting your dentist in Avenel every six months for a checkup — will go a long way in keeping your dental implants in pristine condition.

Bad habits, on the other hand, will shorten their lifespan significantly. That’s why it’s important to avoid smoking, using your teeth as tools to open things, chewing on ice, and other potentially damaging habits.

How can I tell if my dental implant is failing?

How long does it take to recover from dental implant surgery?

Naturally, the length of your recovery will depend on several important factors, including how many dental implants you’re getting. Typically, however, you’ll be able to resume your normal routine within a day or two of surgery.

The best way to speed up the recovery time is by following all of your aftercare instructions, like not exercising for the next week and getting plenty of rest.

Can I get dental implants if I smoke?

Do dental implants feel natural?

They do! One reason they feel natural is because they replace the root and crown of your missing tooth. As a result, they provide a level of stability that other tooth-replacement options don’t.

Additionally, dental implants are custom-made to replicate your missing tooth so that it won’t protrude or feel bulky in any way. Lastly, implants are crafted from lifelike materials — so even you may not be able to tell a difference once enough time has passed!