Houston Dental Implants

Dr. Hedge and Dr. Frazar have extensive experience in placing and restoring thousands of dental implants. Dr. Hedge placed his first dental implant in 1987.

In addition, they are both award-winning cosmetic dentists who can not only place a dental implant restoration that will be stable and functional over the long term, but their work will mimic a real tooth so realistically that no one will know it’s a replacement tooth.

Understanding Dental Implants

If you are missing teeth, dental implants are an excellent option for replacing them, because they replace the entire tooth. They consist of two main parts, as you can see in the diagram at the right.

• There is a root form that is surgically implanted in the jawbone.
• This takes the place of the tooth root for the missing tooth.
• A dental crown, which forms the visible part of the tooth, is then attached to that root form.

Placement of the dental implant, then, involves two steps.

• The surgical step is surgically placing the root form.
• The restorative step places the crown on the root form.

While both Dr. Hedge and Dr. Frazar are trained to do the surgery, they often have a surgical specialist do that part. They will always do the restorative part, and it is a matter of office policy that you never go without a tooth in an empty space.

You may have heard about the need for healing time with the dental implant before a tooth can be placed on the root form. While newer technology can allow us to place the new tooth the same day as the surgery, in some cases there can still be a healing period required. When that is the case, we will always place a highly aesthetic temporary tooth in the space.

Are You a Candidate for Dental Implants?

Any situation where there are missing teeth can be treated with dental implants.

A Single Missing Tooth

The traditional way to replace a single missing tooth has been a dental bridge. With a bridge, dental crowns are placed on the teeth adjacent to the missing space, and a false tooth is suspended between the crowns.

An implant, however, can be more aesthetic because it appears to be growing right out of the gums, the way a natural tooth does. It also has the advantage of not having to grind down adjacent healthy teeth for crowns. However, there is a healing time required, and in some situations a bridge may be more practical.

Multiple Missing Teeth

In traditional dental treatment, multiple missing teeth have always presented a difficult restorative situation. The options have been to either place long-span traditional bridges, which greatly stress the teeth they rest on, or to construct removable partial dentures, which require uncomfortable hardware in the mouth and also stress the teeth they rest on, shortening their lifespan. Dental implants have none of these difficulties.

No Remaining Natural Teeth

When all of your teeth have been extracted, you have two options: You can have removable complete dentures, or you can have some type of implant restoration.

• Removable dentures can be made to look very realistic. One of our laboratory technicians specializes in creating well-fitting, natural-looking dentures. The materials we use look beautiful for years, but removable dentures have one problem that can’t be overcome, no matter how well they’re made: with no remaining teeth, your body senses that the teeth are missing and begins to re-absorb the bone that used to support those teeth in order to use the minerals elsewhere in the body.
• This results in a gradual shrinkage of the jawbone that, over a period of ten to twenty years, creates a condition called facial collapse. When that happens, there may be so little jawbone left that you may not be able to comfortably even wear a denture. Click the link to read more about facial collapse.
• With dental implants, your denture can be stabilized so that it won’t move when you chew. Furthermore, the presence of the implants will prevent facial collapse. The only significant disadvantage of using dental implants when all your teeth are missing is that it adds to the expense.

If you are wondering whether you would be a candidate for dental implants, you may call for a complimentary consultation. We will do a visual examination of your mouth and discuss your needs.

Final determination of whether or not implants would work for you would require x-rays that we would need to take on a second visit, if you choose to proceed. However, we can give you a good idea of whether or not you are a candidate for this procedure, or you may visit our online make an appointment form.

You may also be interested in reading about affordable dental implants. With mini implants, we can cut the cost in half.