Dental Implants at Georgia Dental Medicine

What are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are tiny threaded titanium cylinders that serve as a base for a dental crown or bridge, or as attachments for removable partial or full implant dentures. Titanium is the ideal material for dental implants as it is highly compatible with our natural bone and is hypoallergenic. Titanium is also strong enough to support a dental restoration (crown, bridge or denture) and withstand the force of biting and chewing.

Dental Implant Surgery at Georgia Dental Medicine

Dr. Chris Anderson has over twenty years' experience and advanced training in creating dental implant restorations to reconstruct the patient's ability to chew and speak normally.

To plan your dental implant procedure, Dr. Anderson will conduct a thorough dental examination and review x-rays, photos and 3D images of your teeth, jaw bone and jaw joints. He will also talk with you about your dental and medical history to ensure you are in good health.

After sharing images and discussing your dental implant restoration with you, Dr. Anderson will map the details of your treatment, including dental sedation options. Our administrative team will assist you with scheduling and financial options for your care.

Dr. Anderson will select the size and length of your dental implant based on your jaw characteristics and the type of tooth being replaced. If multiple dental implants are planned to support a denture or full mouth dental implant restoration, he will work with our dental laboratory and select implants that are best suited for your case.

On the day of your implant placement surgery, we will make you comfortable in the dental chair and review your post-treatment instructions. Dr. Anderson will numb the area with local dental anesthetic and monitor your sedation (if elected).

Dr. Anderson will shape a small hole in the jaw bone and place the dental implant in the location of the missing tooth. He may cover the implant with a healing cup (healing abutment) or stitch the gum tissue over the implant to protect it while the area heals.

• As the site heals, the jaw bone cells will regenerate and grow around the dental implant (a process known as osseointegration) to hold the implant firmly in place.

• After a few months' healing time, a single dental implant is restored with a custom dental crown or bridge to replace the missing tooth or a few adjacent teeth in an area.

• If Dr. Anderson is creating a custom implant partial denture or full denture, he will place multiple implants (sometimes known as ‘all on four’ or ‘all on six’). Depending on the health of the gum tissue and bone, it may be possible to attach a temporary denture immediately, or, wear your old denture over the tissue-submerged implants while they heal. Your final implant denture with attachments is made after the implants have been allowed to heal for a few months.

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3D Implant Technology at Georgia Dental Medicine

Our Georgia Dental Medicine facility is equipped with Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). Dr. Anderson uses the CBCT 3D imaging tools to evaluate bone density and determine the level of jaw bone available to support the implant.

If the jaw bone has become damaged or thinned by periodontal disease, breakdown after tooth loss, or trauma from bruxism/clenching, a jaw bone graft may be necessary during the implant placement procedure to promote new bone growth and stabilize the implant.

Georgia Dental Medicine uses 3D Printing Technology

You may have heard of 3D medical printing technology; doctors, medical labs, hospitals and dentists use software to ‘print’ medical devices based on digital scans of patient anatomy.

Marietta general and implant dentist Dr. Chris Anderson has implemented 3D printing at Georgia Dental Medicine. 3D printing can be used to create custom dental nightguards, teeth whitening trays, dental study models and surgical guides for placement of dental implants.

Dr. Anderson creates a 3D printed surgical guide for dental implant placement using software tools that plot the CBCT image with 3D digital impression technology to replicate a model of your jaw.

Guided implant surgery is where dental science meets skill and experience - using your virtual 3D jaw ‘model’, Dr. Anderson marks the exact location for your dental implant with specific instructions on implant size, depth of placement, angle and position. Your surgical guide is then printed in plastic resin material; it has the appearance of a plastic mouth tray with a small hole lined with a metal insert that matches Dr. Anderson's specifications exactly. Your completed surgical guide is sterilized after printing is complete to be ready for your implant surgery.

During implant surgery, Dr. Anderson places the 3D printed guide over the dental arch and creates an access area that matches the guide to facilitate inserting the dental implant into the pre-selected position in the jaw.

The planning and accuracy in guided dental implant placement help to reduce surgery time and make the dental implant process more efficient for you and our team.