Multiple Tooth Implants in Bethlehem, PA

Multiple tooth implants replace several missing teeth at once, and in most cases with fewer implants than teeth. At Always About Smiles, our Bethlehem, PA dental office, our experienced oral surgery team places the implants and we design and deliver the teeth that attach to them, from the planning through the final fitting.

Replacing several teeth rarely means one implant per tooth. A few well-placed implants can carry two, three or four teeth together. Where the back teeth take the heaviest load, we may recommend an implant for each one instead. We’ll work out the finished teeth first, then decide how many implants that plan actually needs.

Quality and quantity of available bone for implant placement is more often a factor in qualifying for dental implants than medical conditions. However, even people who have lost a significant amount of bone can qualify for dental implant treatment with additional procedures to add bone or create new bone. Advances in this type of treatment have made it possible for thousands of patients who would not previously have been considered candidates to have successful implant procedures.

Our experienced oral surgery team places the implants and Dr. Lambert designs and delivers the teeth that attach to them. We plan that referral from the chair and stay in it throughout, so you're not carrying messages between two offices. Every other visit — the planning, the impressions, the fitting, the follow-ups — is with us in Bethlehem. Patients travel in from Nazareth for that arrangement.

No. In fact, it is possible to replace all of the lower teeth with an overdenture that is supported by only 2-4 implants. On the other hand, sometimes it might work to your advantage to replace your back teeth with an implant for each tooth to provide additional strength.

Multiple tooth implants are quoted in two parts: I quote the teeth and the restorative work, and the oral surgery team quotes the placement, and you hold both figures before anything begins. The only way to determine the actual cost is by coming in for a consultation and examination to find out if you have bone loss, how many you will need, and what type of implant. Financing is available.

Most patients are three to nine months from the first appointment to the finished teeth. You will notice a difference almost immediately. However, the entire process can take anywhere between 3-9 months to complete. This depends on the type and quantity of implants you need along with the quality of bone in which the implants are placed.

Every appointment starts with the numbing, and I've put real work into that part. A super numbing gel goes on before the anesthetic, and I buffer the anesthetic chair-side which adjusts its pH to neutral body pH, with more rapid and profound numbing in about ten seconds. Afterward, OraVerse can bring the area back to normal sensation instead of leaving you numb for hours.

Implants are built for the long term. Most research has shown that implants have been successful for over 30 years, and our goal is to make them so they last a lifetime. The porcelain teeth on top carry a five-year warranty against fracture with normal use under our Peace of Mind Limited Dental Warranty, as long as you keep up your cleanings, care, and treatment recommendations.

Often, yes, because the teeth on either side of the gap stay as they are. And bridges require grinding down of the adjacent teeth so that the bridge can be cemented on them. This tooth structure can never be replaced and the long-term health of these teeth is compromised. Where those teeth already need crowns, a bridge does two jobs at once, and I'll say which I'd choose.