Dental Implants in Houston and Sugar Land
Houston Dental Implants Presentation
To provide you with a better understanding of dental implants, we have provided the following multimedia presentation. Many common questions pertaining to dental implants are discussed.
What Are Dental Implants?
A natural tooth consists of a root and a crown. If you compare natural teeth to implant-supported replacement teeth, you’ll see they have the same basic parts. Both have a crown (the visible part used to chew food). Both have a root that holds the tooth securely under the gum and is anchored into the jaw. The difference is that the dental implant is made of titanium – the same time-tested material used by surgeons for artificial joints. When you lose a tooth, you lose both the root and the crown. To replace the tooth, the surgeon first replaces the root with a small dental implant.
Time is allowed for bone to heal and grow around the dental implant, usually 4 to 6 months. The bone bonds with the titanium, creating a strong foundation for artificial teeth. A support post (abutment) is then placed on the implant to connect the new replacement tooth (crown) that is customized to fit you. In many cases a temporary replacement tooth can be attached to the implant immediately after it is placed. If all of your teeth are missing, a variety of treatment options are available to support the replacement teeth.
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We are a family owned private office where we will get to know you, we care about your over all well-being, and we use our experience and judgement to give you excellent results.
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Houston (713) 439-7575 || Sugar Land (281) 277-6622
“Don’t be afraid to Smile.”
For years I’d felt like a part of my body was missing — because my teeth were. My dentist told me that dental implants would make me feel and look a lot better. OK, I said. Now, I’m thrilled. I can smile, eat anything, and enjoy my time with friends.
Surgical Advances
Using the most recent advances in dental implant technology, Dr. Jason Hullett and Dr. Anu Hullett are able to place single stage implants. These implants do not require a second procedure to uncover them, but do require a minimum of six weeks of healing time before artificial teeth are placed. There are even situations where the implant can be placed at the same time as the tooth extraction – further minimizing your number of surgical procedures.
While Cone Beam CT (3D picture) is not always necessary, it is used for fine tuned planning and to eliminate guess work.
Drs. Hullett use this valuable tool, CBCT, in their office to make CT-Guided stents, which help place the implant exactly where it needs to be in less than straight forward cases, and also to see how much bone volume you have versus how much you may need in order to hold the correct amount of implants. We use the CBCT to measure the length and width of your bone and match it with the appropriate sized implant. This creates efficiency by allowing us to cut down on wasteful time and excessive costs to you as a patient.
As oral surgeons, we know bone physiology. We work with bone and soft tissue everyday. We know what it can and cannot do. We also know that implants differ in their design and specifically choose what will work for your type of bone. Our success with implants comes from our philosophy of incubating it like a baby about to be born….nurture it from within, put it in a good environment and you will have success.
Dental implant placement is a team effort between you, your oral surgeon and your restorative dentist. Dr. Jason Hullett or Dr. Anu Hullett performs the actual implant surgery, initial tooth extractions, and bone grafting, if necessary. The restorative dentist (your dentist) fits and makes the permanent prosthesis. Your dentist will also make any temporary prosthesis needed during the implant process.
Southwest Oral and Implant Surgery
Patient Testimonial
I've had several visits to this office for my implants (I had 3 placed) and my dentist just placed the crowns on top--amazing. I can bite my teeth together. The doctor, Dr. Hullett, did a great job with the surgery itself in putting in the implants. This was definitely the easiest of all the dental work I've had done in the past (I had extracted teeth that had root canals, some fillings) but barely had to deal with any after pain. The crowns look like white natural teeth and you can see one when I'm smiling wide and they don't feel like something is stuck in my jaw. They feel pretty good! I'm glad I did it.
- Josh F
For you own reading enjoyment; here’s the pretty printed view: