Placement and Restoration of Dental Implants in Lafayette, LA
If you have one or more missing teeth, you’ve probably experienced everyday challenges with eating, chewing, and speaking. But while a missing tooth can cause discomfort and even oral health issues, these problems can’t compare with feeling self-conscious or embarrassed about your smile. That is why we don’t want you to suffer from this problem any longer than necessary.
Dr. J. Jerome Smith and Dr. Daniel Domingue can restore your appearance, oral health, and self-confidence using leading-edge dental implant technology in their Lafayette, LA dental office.
- Why should I have my tooth replaced?
- What is a dental implant?
- What is the dental implant process?
- Am I a good candidate for dental implants?
- Do dental implants feel and look natural?
- My dentures shift around. How can dental implants help?
- Can dental implants help if I have multiple missing teeth?
- What is your experience with placing dental implants?
- Does it hurt to get a dental implant?
- How should I care for my dental implant?
Why should I have my tooth replaced?
Improving your appearance is one of the most common reasons for replacing a missing tooth. A wide gap in your teeth can make you look older as your teeth shift and cause a sunken facial appearance. You may even feel so embarrassed about speaking, laughing, and smiling that you avoid social situations.
But your oral health is also at risk with missing teeth. Regardless of how you lose a tooth, bone loss sets in immediately, which shrinks and pulls back your gums, causing gum recession. Adjacent teeth suffer too, as they shift and become loose without the bone support they once had.
Dental implants are an investment in your long-term oral health, self-confidence, and appearance and offer a permanent solution for missing teeth.
What is a dental implant?
A dental implant is an artificial tooth that replaces your lost root, giving you a natural-looking, functional tooth. One of the main benefits of dental implants is that they stimulate bone regeneration in your jawbone, preventing bone loss and providing a strong, stable foundation for years to come.
Dental implants involve placing a screw-like titanium post in your jawbone, which will bond with your bone and surrounding tissues in a process called osseointegration. When the area has healed, we place a small connector to the post called an abutment, which will allow us to eventually restore the tooth with a dental crown, bridge, or denture.
At the dental offices of Dr. J. Jerome Smith and Dr. Daniel Domingue, we have extensive knowledge, advanced training, and state-of-the-art technology in dental implant placement. We’re experts at making the dental implant process uncomplicated, straightforward, and highly successful.
At our Lafayette, LA dental office, we use 3-D cone beam computerized tomography imaging (CBCT), which allows us to take precise measurements for placing your dental implant. Dental implant placement is not painful, but we offer various sedation methods, including IV sedation, for your complete comfort.
Our dentists have decades of experience with dental implant placement, which ensures a stress-free experience for you.
What is the dental implant process?
Investing in a dental implant involves a series of dental procedures to evaluate and prepare the area, place the implant and abutment, and restore the tooth. We will ensure proper healing before taking the next step, which is why the entire dental implant process can take four to six months (and longer with bone grafts).
Although every patient is unique and each procedure differs depending on your needs, the basic dental implant procedure goes as follows:
- When you visit our Lafayette, LA dental office for a consultation, our highly qualified dentists will review your overall health and history. They use diagnostic tools to measure and evaluate your bone and gums using a 3-D CBCT scan and other imaging. We also take digital impressions of your mouth so that your final restoration fits perfectly.
- If necessary, we’ll extract any teeth using local anesthesia.
- We’ll perform bone grafts, if needed, and give those areas time to heal.
- On the day of your dental implant surgery, we will make you comfortable and numb the area using IV or oral sedation if you’ve chosen this option. Dr. Smith or Dr. Domingue will then place the titanium post in your jawbone.
- When you return to our dental office, we will place the abutment on your dental implant.
- In the final step, we will restore your tooth with a dental crown or other treatment that matches your other teeth in color, shape, and size.
Am I a good candidate for dental implants?
Dental implants are more accessible than ever. You may be a good candidate if you:
- Have one or more missing teeth
- Have healthy gums
- Don’t have any chronic diseases or suppressed immune system
- Don’t smoke tobacco
- Aren’t pregnant
- Have enough jawbone for the procedure or can have bone grafting
- Can’t or don’t want to wear dentures
- Can commit to the dental implant process
If another dentist said dental implants wouldn’t work for you because you’re missing too much bone, we have good news. Dr. Smith and Dr. Domingue have advanced training in bone grafting, which involves rebuilding the deteriorated jawbone for a dental implant.
Contact us to schedule a consultation and learn how you can reach your goals with dental implants. We’ll work with you to find a solution for your missing tooth or teeth that meets your individual needs.
Do dental implants feel and look natural?
Our advanced digital and 3-D technology allows us to produce restorations that look just like your other teeth. We’ll shade your final restoration to match the color, shape, and size of surrounding teeth so that you feel comfortable and confident smiling again.
My dentures shift around. How can dental implants help?
Dental implants are a long-term, stable alternative to removable dentures that move around when chewing and speaking. Since the dental implant securely bonds with your jawbone, it will not move or shift. You can feel confident that your dental implant will function just like your other teeth, with no cumbersome appliance to manage.
Can dental implants help if I have multiple missing teeth?
You have several options if you’re missing multiple teeth:
- Implant-supported denture or bridge – In the case of multiple missing teeth, we can use implants to support adjacent bridges or dentures. The denture snaps onto the dental implants, giving the denture more stability.
- Full-implant denture – If you have multiple missing teeth in a row and enough healthy bone in your jaw, we can place dental implants to support full upper or lower dentures. Depending on your individual needs, we can either remove remaining teeth or place fixed dental crowns or bridges on remaining teeth.
What is your experience with placing dental implants?
Both Dr. Jerome Smith and Dr. Daniel Domingue have received recognition as Diplomates for the International Congress of Oral Implantology for their outstanding work in implant dentistry. Their advanced training and experience, combined with our state-of-the-art technology, ensure that your implant procedure at our Lafayette, LA dental office will be uncomplicated and stress-free.
Does it hurt to get a dental implant?
You will not feel pain during any of your procedures, although you may feel some pressure and hear the sounds of our tools. If you feel anxious about dental procedures, we can provide oral or IV sedation or nitrous oxide to make you more comfortable.
Many of our patients tell us that they don’t feel any pain after their dental implant procedure! But if you feel any discomfort, you can manage it with ibuprofen and a cold compress on your cheek in the affected area.
How should I care for my dental implant?
A dental implant can last many years, and it’s essential to take excellent care of your gums and surrounding teeth. Brushing and flossing between meals and twice-yearly dental cleanings will help control tartar and prevent gum disease and tooth decay.
Of course, right after each phase of your treatment, we will give you detailed instructions on how to eat and brush around your restoration.
Dental Implants in Lafayette Will Make You Want to Smile Again!
Dr. J. Jerome Smith and Dr. Daniel Domingue are passionate about serving the Lafayette, LA area for their dental implant, sedation dentistry, and bone grafting needs.
There’s no reason to hide your smile when dental implants can restore your teeth seamlessly. If you’d like to learn more about dental implants, call our dental office at (337) 205-7309 to schedule a consultation with one of our top Lafayette dentists.
Immediately after placement, avoid chewing foods in the area to allow it to heal properly. Follow post-operative instructions like avoiding smoking, spitting, and sucking on a straw. 
While dental implants have been around for many years, the quality and technology used to make them has dramatically increased their success rate and decreased their relative cost, making them more accessible for the average person. New training and techniques for implant placement also contribute to their success rate.
If you have missing teeth and you are considering cosmetic dentistry, dental implants could be part of your treatment plan to restore your appearance. Dental implants have benefits both for your health as well as for your appearance.
Dental implants can last forever, fortunately we have patients that have been in our office for 30+years and still have the exact same functional properties as it did when it was initially placed. All of these patients have one theme in common, they all maintained their implants properly at home and were seen regularly for checkups by our hygienist. They don’t need special care as compared to your natural teeth. Your teeth may stain or wear but your implants are colorfast and will maintain their color from the day they were delivered.
