Accurate, Convenient, and Fast Oral Screening for Early Detection

What Causes Oral Cancer? Is It Common?

Oral cancer refers to the cancer of the mouth and the throat. It has affected an estimated 53,000 people in the US population. If it is detected early enough, oral cancer will not become life-threatening. Regardless of your age, gender, and status in life, it is crucial for you to be aware of the risks, predisposing factors, and precipitating factors of oral cancer. Sometimes, this type of cancer is found in people with little to no risk factor.

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

To start things off, you’ll meet our dentists for a brief consultation. This visit lets us confirm your smile goals, oral health history, and other relevant procedure factors. We’ll then use those details to see whether dental implants suit you and adjust your final treatment plan.

If you don’t initially qualify for treatment, please don’t worry. You can become a good implant candidate later through extra dental work – gum disease therapy, tooth extraction, etc. Such services would strengthen your mouth enough to support dental implant posts.

Dental Implant Surgery

Should we approve, you’ll undergo dental implant surgery after your consultation. Our team performs this step in-house, so you’ll benefit from our dentists’ advanced skills and expertise. To that extent, you can trust that you’ll have fantastic treatment results.

The actual implant surgery will feature the following:

Anesthesia – We’ll first numb your treatment site with anesthesia. That way, you won’t feel any pain during care; the most you’ll sense is slight pressure.
A Minor Incision – Once the anesthesia takes effect, we’ll make an incision in your gums. Doing so creates space in your mouth for the implant post.
Implant Placement – Our team will rely on advanced tools and methods to place your implant post.
Gum Closure – After placing your implant, we’ll carefully close your gum incision. We’ll then set a cap over your new post to wrap things up.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s)

Our team will deliver your implant’s final restoration at your treatment’s end. For this work, we’ll set a dental prosthetic that “matches up” with how many teeth you’ve lost. It could be a dental crown, dental bridge, or implant denture, depending on your case.

The fitting of this restoration shouldn’t take a long time. Once we’ve applied dental cement to your abutment, we’ll just make last-minute changes to ensure the post fits well. You’ll then be ready to head out and enjoy your newly-restored smile!

Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment

Soon after placement, your dental implant(s) will start to fuse with your jaw. This process – known as osseointegration – takes roughly 4-6 months and keeps your posts rooted. In other words, it ensures that your new “tooth” becomes a permanent part of your mouth.

You’ll attend a follow-up surgery once implant fusion ends. At that time, we’ll place an abutment (i.e., a metal connector) on your implant post. We’ll have a lab craft your final restoration while you recover from this abutment work.

Day-to-Day Benefits

With the implants firmly anchored to your jawbone, you can have a nutritious diet of fibrous fruits and vegetables without worrying about your restoration slipping out of place. This design also gives dental implants more strength than other options, allowing you to eat all your favorite foods, even if they’re crunchy or tough!

Dental implants’ superior stability has one more advantage: you’ll be able to talk more smoothly and enunciate clearly – without needing to rely on adhesives or frequent adjustments.

Health Benefits

Dental implants are the best tooth replacement option for your oral health. This is thanks to the implant post, which will support your jawbone much like a natural dental root. The biocompatible materials encourage the bone to grow around your implant, preventing bone loss and the complicated bite and jaw issues that often result from it.

Although dentures and bridges aren’t exactly complicated to take care of, dental implants fit into your dental socket just like a natural tooth. This means oral hygiene will also be simple, making it easier for you to get a thorough clean and prevent problems like cavities and gum disease.

Long-Term Benefits

Since dental implants help preserve the shape of your jawbone, they’re also great for maintaining your youthful appearance. Tooth loss can cause the skin around your oral cavity to appear sunken over time, but dental implants will keep your facial structure nice and supported.

The best part about these benefits is that you can expect to enjoy them for many years to come! Dental implants can last for an impressive 30 years or more with proper care, providing you with superior oral function for an entire lifetime. You’ll appreciate the convenience and longevity of this restoration, and your wallet will appreciate the cost-effectiveness!

Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

Practically any adult who is in generally good health can receive dental implants, but you’ll need to meet with us for a consultation first just to be sure. Certain health conditions can make dental implants more likely to fail, which is why we’ll need to examine your mouth and review your medical history. In most cases, you’ll need to have three key qualities to be considered a dental implant candidate:

Good general health – You should be in good enough overall health that you’re able to undergo a minor surgical procedure.
Great oral health – Gum disease, tooth decay, and other oral health issues could compromise the success of your new teeth, so they must be addressed beforehand.
A strong jawbone – Without enough jawbone density, the implant posts won’t have a sturdy foundation to merge with. If you’ve suffered from jawbone loss, we can recommend a bone graft, which adds bone material to the area to strengthen it.

Once your dental implant dentist in Granby has deemed you fit to move forward with the treatment, you can collaborate on a tooth replacement plan based on the number of pearly whites you’re missing.

Missing One Tooth

Missing Multiple Teeth

Missing All Teeth

Some of the risk factors are the following:

Low Immune Response
A weak immune response attracts opportunistic and incurable diseases like cancer to take advantage of the healthy cells.
Alcohol and Tobacco Use
Using tobacco of any kind, especially cigarette smoking, significantly increases oral cancer risk. The risk goes up even more when paired with alcohol use.
Age
The risk always increases as the age goes higher. About 25% of new cases affect people younger than 55 years old.
Sun Exposure
Uncontrolled sun exposure may lead to sun damage. This sun damage also increases the risk for melanoma, which is often found on the lips.

Symptoms of Oral Cancer

Oral cancer symptoms may vary depending on a person’s health status and other contributing factors. However, if you recognize any signs of mouth cancer, schedule a checkup with your dentist as soon as possible. Some symptoms are manageable, especially when they are detected early. Expect your dentist to perform an inspection and look closely to see if you have any lumps, thickened skin, or other abnormalities on the parts of your mouth. The earliest signs and symptoms of oral cancer can be detected using the latest innovations in dentistry. It will be time for monitoring machines to work their wonders in promoting optimal oral health.

The most typical symptoms of Oral Cancer include the following:

Any swelling or thickening
A sore throat or a feeling of foreign body obstruction
A persistent sore on the face, neck, or mouth
Pain in the ear
Difficulty in eating, chewing, or swallowing
Difficulty moving your jaw
Hoarseness or a sudden change in voice
Unexplained bleeding in the mouth

What’s Oral Cancer Screening? Is This Important?

In most clinics, oral cancer screening is almost always included in every checkup. It only takes a few minutes of your stay. A quick inspection will be performed. This inspection usually follows a series of visualizations starting from your cheeks, lips, throat, palate, and the area under your tongue.

Oral cancer screenings also include checking for any appearance of bumps, lumps, or tender areas. In the presence of suspicious findings, you will be requested to revisit the clinic in 10-14 days for further evaluation. There are also instances when we need to refer you to another specialist.

These screenings provide you with early detection, which plays a crucial role in diagnosing suspected oral cancers. Also, not all suspected cases turn out to be cancers. Other diseases have almost similar symptoms, but most of them are benign.

For the sake of early detection, oral screenings can tremendously impact your oral health. Having a maximum of two non-invasive oral screenings per year will give you the peace of mind you deserve regarding oral health. Screenings are the best chance for you to detect something suspicious and treat it right away. Early detection may also result in better treatment outcomes.

The following are common signs of oral cancer that you must watch out for in every screening:

Types of Dental Implants

When preparing to undergo dental implant placement, the type of restoration you need will determine how many implants you will receive.

Single Tooth– A dental crown will be created and placed on top of a single dental implant that will be surgically placed into your jawbone to replicate the original tooth structure.
Multiple Teeth– We will place what is known as a fixed bridge on top of two dental implants, which will be inserted into the outer sockets to create a stable foundation for your restoration.
All Teeth– The most expensive dental implant is an implant denture. This custom creation looks just like a traditional denture, but instead of sitting on your gums and using your natural suction to remain in place, it will be secured onto an average of four to six implants.

What Are the Stages of Dental Implant Treatment?

Each phase of treatment will incur its own costs. The first step is to schedule an initial consultation with us to determine if you are a qualified candidate. During this appointment, we will take digital images of your oral and facial structure and determine if your jawbone is dense enough to support your implants and restoration. If so, you will be given the green light to move forward with the procedure. If not, you will likely need to undergo a bone graft or sinus lift to strengthen the weakened areas of your bone.

The actual surgery will occur in-house by our team of professionals and will require anesthesia and/or sedation to ensure you are comfortable throughout the process. We will make small incisions in your gums before placing each implant into its designated area. You will then return home to heal for three to six months to allow the osseointegration process to occur.

Once you are fully healed, you will return to receive your metal abutment, which is the attachment that connects the implant to your restoration. Finally, your custom-made prosthetic will be secured into place, allowing you to see a full, complete smile that is beautifully blended and healthy.

Are Dental Implants Worth the Investment?

If you were to review the testimonials of previous patients, you would quickly understand why dental implants are worth the investment. Yes, they do require substantial upfront costs; however, when you consider the various benefits (i.e., functionality, permanence, longevity, easy to maintain, and improved oral health), it is hard to consider any other option.

Ultimately, the decision is yours, but if you want a restoration that is designed to last decades or longer and will give you better oral health and a beautiful, fully restored smile, you can’t go wrong with dental implants.

Will Dental Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

Depending on your plan, your insurance may or may not cover the cost of treatment. While it is possible that they will agree to pay for certain aspects of treatment (i.e. consultation, anesthesia, custom restoration), they may not cover the cost of the actual surgery. This is why it’s necessary to speak with a representative from your insurance company before agreeing to move forward with treatment. Our team will be happy to work on your behalf if you prefer, getting the answers you need to make the right decision about your dental health.

We will also be happy to go over financing options to minimize your out-of-pocket expenses and help you stay within your budget.

At Century Dental, we commit to provide comprehensive dental procedures that focus on every detail of your oral health.

So, what are you waiting for? Call us at (727) 367-3313 now for an appointment.

Don’t Settle—Choose the Care You Deserve.

Schedule your first appointment today.