A dental implant consisits of two parts: the root form surgically anchored in your jaw and the replacement tooth that is placed on the root form.

With implants, artificial teeth are attached directly to the jaw. They can replace one or more teeth, or provide support for a partial denture. For some patients who have lost teeth, dental implants are often the replacement of choice. They are the closest thing to natural teeth and are becoming more popular each year.

Dr. Olson can provide a thorough evaluation to determine if you are a good candidate for such a procedure, which requires healthy gums and adequate bone to support the implant. He works with a specialist to complete the three-part process that involves implanting an anchor and post. Dr. Olson then creates a natural-looking prosthetic tooth that is placed on the post.

The missing single front tooth in the picture on the left has been replaced with a dental implant that matches the existing teeth perfectly. Work like this can only be done by an expert cosmetic dentist like Dr. Nils Olson.

There are many advantages of dental implants:

• Dental implants have the same appearance and feeling of your own natural teeth, especially when done by a true cosmetic dentist..

• They are anchored in the bone the same as natural teeth. This prevents the resorption of bone that happens when teeth are lost. Jaw shrinkage can be a serious problem leading to inablitiy to wear dentures and shriveling of the face.

• Adjacent teeth are left intact and don't need to be ground down for crowns to support dental bridges.

• There is no risk of slippage or losing them.

There are some disadvantages of dental implants:

• They are often more expensive than other tooth replacements and often aren't covered by insurance.

• If the teeth adjacent to your missing tooth already need dental crowns, there is less advantage to a dental implant.

• It takes several visits to your dentist and a specialist (an oral surgeon or a periodontist).

• There is often a delay of several weeks while the root form heals before you get your new tooth or teeth.