Dental Implants in San Diego, CA
What are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are replacements for missing teeth. They are a terrific innovation in dentistry, making ill-fitting and uncomfortable dentures and bridges a thing of the past. San Diego dental implants dentist, Dr. Han, can help replace missing or lost teeth with permanent implants that will look and feel like your natural teeth.
How do Dental Implants Work?
Dental implants are made up of three parts:
- A special surgical-grade titanium post that is inserted surgically into the jawbone
- A strong ceramic crown in the exact dimensions of your tooth
- An abutment that connects below the surface post to the crown
If you decide to get a dental implant in La Jolla, Dr. Han will plan your treatment every step of the way. As a top implant dentist in San Diego, Dr. Han works closely with a nearby oral surgeon, who will place the implant post.
Once your surgery has healed, Dr. Han will carefully construct and place the abutment and crown. Your new tooth will match the rest of your teeth perfectly, and you will be able to use it to chew, talk and smile normally.
What if I need a bone graft?
While many of our La Jolla dental implants patients have the bone density to enable almost immediate attachment of the replacement teeth, some patients may need further work to enable the implant to become solidly integrated.
Patients with marginal bone mass may need a bone graft before the implant can be placed. It can take several months for the graft to heal after which the process can continue.
Replacement teeth can take several weeks to be created. Dr. Han will place temporary crowns or provide a temporary denture to use while the replacement teeth are being made. His attention to detail combined with his artistic sense allows Dr. Han to create natural looking, very stable implants that can’t be differentiated from natural teeth. Anyone seeking outstanding dental implants in La Jolla is invited to consult Dr. Han for an evaluation.
Dental Implants Replace Teeth in an Extremely Natural Way
Dr. Han has extensive advanced training in dental restorations, and has helped hundreds of patients replace teeth with dental implants. He is able to achieve a level of comfort and aesthetics with dental implants that will leave you feeling as if you have simply recovered your own natural tooth.
Am I a candidate for Dental Implants?
Almost anyone with missing teeth and good general health can benefit from our La Jolla dental implants. There are some medical conditions that rule out implants due to the possibility of impaired healing.
Initial Consultation
During the initial consultation for dental implants in San Diego, Dr. Han will review the patient’s medical history and if there are any conditions that would make dental implants a poor choice for restoration, he will offer other alternatives.
A New Life With Dental Implants
Dental implants are one of the biggest advances in dentistry over the past forty years. Losing permanent teeth no longer means a lifetime of dealing with dentures and bridges, mouth sores and restricted eating. Developing the use of implants has given many people a greatly improved quality of life both cosmetically and functionally. People with dental implants can once again chew normally and eat a wide variety of healthy foods thereby restoring health.
Why Dental Implants?
Many people who wear dentures find that they become uncomfortable over time. Others do not want to sacrifice good tooth structure to create a bridge and for these people dental implants are a great alternative in tooth restoration.
La Jolla dental implants dentist, Dr. Michael Han, has provided his patients with world class dental implants that are life changing in some instances. Missing teeth can create havoc with one’s self confidence and can have a detrimental effect on overall health. Dr. Han's goal is to create a stable, beautiful smile for his patients that enable each one to unselfconsciously eat, talk and socialize without any attention on their teeth.
Videos
Stuck In Dentures? Missing Teeth? We Have Solutions!
Dental Implants | Time, Money, and Fear
I Was Done With Having Dental Issues, Dental Implants Gave Me The Fresh Start That I Needed!
I Was Never Happy With My Old Partial Denture, An All-On-X Was Life Changing!
Dental Implants Gave Me The Freedom To Do All Of The Things That I’ve Wanted To Do!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Missing Teeth Cause Aging Effects on My Face?
The truth is, missing and damaged teeth can wreak havoc on your facial features and attractiveness. In the case of a missing tooth, or multiple missing teeth, the body begins to dissolve and reabsorb the surrounding bone because there is nothing there requiring its support. This results in premature aging through unnatural creases and wrinkles. Our dental implants in San Diego help address this.
Do Missing Teeth Cause Facial Drooping?
What happens is the space between your nose and chin decreases, meaning your nose often appears larger and more prominent. Your face then begins to look as though it is trapped in a perpetual frown as the creases pull down the corners of your mouth. This chain reaction leads to a face that looks fallen or droopy, and the chin develops a distinctive point, otherwise known as a "witch's chin".
Are Missing Teeth Related to the Formation of Jowls?
Jowls may then form and make the face look even more unnatural. Sometimes the tongue will even enlarge because of the increased demands placed on it from missing teeth. This can cause speech and chewing problems. And once you've lost one tooth, it becomes much easier and more likely that you will lose others easier and more likely that you will lose others.
What About Dentures?
Of course, the same troubles affect denture wearers as well. Because dentures aren't permanent, they don't stimulate the jawbone enough to keep its shape and form, which in turn gives your face shape and form.
Can Dental Implants Reverse These Issues?
Despite the severity of these issues, most of them can be stopped or even reversed with the proper help. In fact, many of Dr. Han's La Jolla dental implant patients arrive in our office looking older than they actually are -- and leave looking 10 to 15 years younger!
Dental Implants are Better Than Dentures: Here's Why
There are very good reasons why dentures and partials fail you—why you can't chew comfortably and smile confidently no matter how hard you try.
Natural teeth with their roots implanted in the gum and surrounded by bone are able to exert about 250 pounds per square inch. For normal chewing, natural teeth exert an average pressure of 45 pounds per square inch of force, ranging up to 75 pounds.
With dentures, the average chewing pressure is reduced to 14 pounds per square inch and for some as little as 5 pounds per square inch. This is a 5 to 15-fold decrease in chewing effectiveness.
And the longer you wear dentures the worse it gets. If you are a denture wearer, you know this tremendous loss of pressure means having to completely change your eating habits.
Other Difficulties from Dentures Include:
- Experiencing your dentures shift from side to side by an average of a half-inch during chewing.
- Struggling with being overweight or underweight because you either eat soft foods, which are inevitably high in carbohydrates and calories, or you eat very little because it's just too painful.
- Not being able to enjoy the taste, temperature and texture of your food, requiring you to add additional salt and spices.
- Plastic in the dentures that insulates the tissue responsible for giving you a "sense" of your food. This may require you to add more salt than usual, which can lead to high blood pressure, and problems of the digestive tract. Forty percent (40%) of heart disease is related to high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis.
- Shorter life span. The average denture wearer's life is 10 years shorter than non-denture wearers!
Did you know studies indicate that after 2 months of having implanted replacement teeth, patients were able to increase their maximum biting force by 85%? After 3 years, the average chewing force increased 300% compared to before dental implant treatment.
All in all, implants are a better choice for your health, vitality and quality of life, and Dr. Han is constantly excelling in providing the best results with dental implants San Diego has available. See for yourself with his before and after photos below.
Schedule your dental implant consultation today
The best way to find out about dental implants is to schedule a consultation with Dr. Han at our La Jolla dental office. In a consultation, you can ask all of your questions, and find out exactly the best method for replacing your missing or broken down teeth. The time is now to start your journey to the smile you've always wanted with the most beautiful, natural dental implants in San Diego & La Jolla.
For a consultation with Dr. Han, please call us at (858) 281-4121 or click here to schedule online.