The Ultimate Smile Makeover
What You Should Know About Dental Implants and their Benefits
By M. James Fagan, III, MS, DMD, Cosmetic Dental & Implant Center, North Atlanta LIVING WELL Magazine
There are millions of people in the U.S. suffering from missing teeth. They have lost their self confidence at work or personal life. Many patients’ chief complaints are the constant agony of slipping dentures or partials and the embarrassment of the inability to eat out in public, at a business luncheon or out with friends. Are you one of these people who could benefit from dental implants?
Solutions to missing teeth, painful dentures or partials
The first thing people need to know is they don’t have to live this way any longer. Implant dentistry––as a solution––has evolved over the last 60 plus years to be predictable, esthetic and affordable. With the proper implant dentist, who has training, experience, and expertise, a life changing result can be obtained with dental implants. Your smile is extremely important; after all, it makes your first impression.
What are dental implants?
Dental implants are a safe, medically proven, esthetic alternative to crowns, bridgework, dentures and partials. Because implant restorations look and feel like natural teeth, they offer new levels of comfort, security, and confidence over traditional treatments. For more than three decades, Dr. Fagan has been providing quality of life changes to patients with restorative needs. By merging implant, cosmetic and neuromuscular dentistry, Dr. Fagan can restore your smile.
How do implants work?
Implants work as a small “anchor” made of medically-proven titanium that is inserted into the jawbone to take the place of your own missing tooth root. When the surrounding bone has healed to the implant, a replacement tooth is secured to the top of the implant. This new replacement tooth (or teeth) feels and performs similar to your natural teeth. Options available are single tooth, multiple teeth or complete upper or lower teeth. Different types of prosthesis are available based on your needs and budget.
What are the benefits?
Choosing dental implants as a treatment option offers a significant number of advantages:
-Maintains, augments and prevents deterioration of the jawbone so your face retains its natural shape
-Eliminates the need to grind down healthy teeth when replacing one or more adjacent teeth
-Eliminates some of the key problems of slippery dentures including poor fit, gum irritation and pain from pressure on nerves.
-Securely anchored dental implants and their prosthesis result in superior comfort, reliability and freedom from embarrassment.
-Can provide a cosmetic dental facelift and take years off your current appearance.
Questions to ask
When it comes to personal health, the patient should know their options. Before selecting an implant dentist ask these questions:
-How long have they been practicing?
-Where did they get their training?
-Are they an active, credentialed member of a Dental Implant Organization?
-Have they lectured or published on dental implantology?
-Do they use advanced technology such as 3-D CAT scan digital radiography for diagnosis and implant placement?
-Do they have advanced training on how teeth fit together and function (occlusion)?
-Do they use a multi- modal approach providing different options according to budget and needs?
-Does the doctor perform both the surgery and the implant restoration?
These aren’t the only questions to ask, but are a good start. Don’t put up with the agony and embarrassment of missing teeth, slipping dentures or partials any longer. Jump start your first impression today.
Dr. Jim Fagan, director of Cosmetic Dental & Implant Center, has been practicing implant dentistry for more than 30 years in Atlanta. He is board certified and a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He co-authored “Implant Prosthodontics: Surgical and Prosthetic Techniques for Dental Implants” and has lectured internationally on techniques of dental implant reconstruction and neuromuscular dentistry.
Cosmetic Dental & Implant Center is one of the oldest dental implant practices in Georgia, providing not only dental implant solutions to patients, but also educating doctors.
At Cosmetic Dental & Implant Center, you will receive the standard of excellence you deserve. For more information or to schedule a consultation appointment, call the office of Dr. Jim Fagan at 404-255-5006 or visit www.drfagan.net.
