Dental Implants in Easton, PA

If you’ve lost one tooth or multiple teeth due to extensive decay, gum disease or facial trauma, we can provide you with the solution you need to restore your oral health in Easton, PA. Since teeth can shift out of place after a tooth has been removed, and since teeth that shift are more susceptible to disease and decay, Lehigh Valley Dental offers dental implants to both restore the beauty of your smile and improve your oral health. While bridges or dentures can also be used to replace missing teeth, these options either require work to healthy teeth or are not permanent fixtures in the mouth. Dental implants, on the other hand, look and feel natural.

The first step of the implant process is to implant a titanium screw in the jawbone. This screw serves as your replacement tooth root and keeps your jaw from deteriorating or changing shape. Once the screw is in place, your jaw is left to heal around the implant in a process called osseointegration—a process that can take three to six months to complete. During this healing, you will receive a temporary crown for easier speaking and eating.

When the implant has healed, Dr. Alan Dilsaver will install the abutment, which acts as the foundation upon which your permanent crown is placed. An impression is then taken of the area, and the permanent crown is custom made and adhered to the abutment to give you a new smile that looks and functions like your natural teeth.

With our help, you can achieve an attractive and complete smile with dental implants. Schedule a consultation by calling (610) 252-7414. For more information, please visit www.lehighvalleysmiles.net.

Dentures at Lehigh Valley Smiles

Many of our patients in Easton, PA choose dentures to replace their missing teeth. Cost-effective and removable dentures are an attractive option for many patients at Lehigh Valley Smiles, and they are available as both full and partial devices. 

Full dentures can be placed in two ways: conventionally or immediately. Conventional full dentures are used after all of a patient’s teeth have been removed, but only once the gum tissue has healed for a few months. During that healing time, the patient would have no teeth in place. Immediate full dentures, however, are more popular since patients do not have to be toothless for any period of time. For this type, Dr. Alan Dilsaver takes measurements of your mouth prior to removing the teeth. The teeth are removed at the next appointment, and the dentures are immediately placed in your mouth. With this method, a follow-up visit is required so that the dentures can be refitted and tightened since the jawbone changes shape slightly as it heals with no teeth.

Partial dentures are an option for those who do not need all their teeth removed. This type is very similar to bridges, except they are removable instead of permanent.

Whichever dentures our patients choose, the device takes some time getting used to, but as you practice, eating and speaking will get easier. Even though they are not real teeth, dentures should still be cared for as if they were. To ensure your dentures last, be sure to brush them before removal and place them in room temperature water or cleaning solution overnight.

To find out if dentures are the right choice for you, schedule an appointment at Lehigh Valley Smiles by calling (610) 252-7414. For more information, visit www.lehighvalleysmiles.net.  

Dr. Alan Dilsaver and Mini Implants

Dental implants are a great way to replace missing teeth and are an option available for one or multiple missing teeth. There are two types of implants offered here at Lehigh Valley Smiles: traditional and mini implants.

Mini implants use the same basic procedure as regular implants, but are smaller and the process takes significantly less time. Our patients don’t need as much bone density for implanting them since the titanium metal post is about half the size of regular implants. They also don’t need to wait the three months for the bone to heal before completing the procedure.

Here are the steps our patients go through when getting mini dental implants at our dental office:

1. Patients first get x-rays to determine if there is enough jawbone for the implant.

2. A crown abutment is fabricated prior to beginning the process .

3. The patients is administered anesthesia and our dentist makes a small incision in the gum to reach the jawbone.

4. The small titanium post is installed directly into the jawbone.

5. Once the post is in place, the crown is screwed on top of the post.

Mini implants are done in about 2-3 weeks, as opposed to 3-6 months for regular implants. They cost less, are completed easier and have a simpler recovery process.

To learn more about mini dental implants, visit dentist Dr. Alan Dilsaver in Easton, PA. For more information, visit www.lehighvalleysmiles.net.

Bridges

If you have had a tooth extracted due to damage, decay or disease, it is important to have the resulting gap filled or else your remaining teeth can shift out of position. When this happens, your teeth become more susceptible to disease and decay. At Lehigh Valley Smiles, we can help keep your smile beautiful and functional with dental bridges.

Called a bridge because it literally creates a bridge to cross the area where your tooth is missing, this prosthetic tooth replacement is usually made from gold, metal, alloys or porcelain to ensure a strong and durable smile that can last more than a decade if properly cared for.

The process of creating a bridge takes two visits to our office. In the first, Dr. Alan Dilsaver will create abutments out of the existing teeth on both sides of your missing tooth. This is where the bridge will be attached. After the abutments are in place, a mold is made of your mouth for creating the bridge, which will fit and feel as close to your natural teeth as possible. The bridge will consist of two crowns, which will be fixed to the abutments, and a pontic, which is the prosthetic that will replace your missing tooth. We provide you with a temporary bridge while your permanent one is crafted in the lab. On the second visit, the permanent bridge will then be fixed to the abutments with an adhesive.

For more information, call our office in Easton, PA at (610) 252-7414. You can also visit www.LehighValleySmiles.net.

Mini Implants

Dental implants are a great way to replace missing teeth and are an option available for one or multiple missing teeth. There are two types of implants offered here at Lehigh Valley Smiles: traditional and mini implants.

Mini implants use the same basic procedure as regular implants, but are smaller and the process takes significantly less time. Our patients don’t need as much bone density for implanting them since the titanium metal post is about half the size of regular implants. They also don’t need to wait the three months for the bone to heal before completing the procedure.

Here are the steps our patients go through when getting mini dental implants at our dental office:

1. Patients first get x-rays to determine if there is enough jawbone for the implant.
2. A crown abutment is fabricated prior to beginning the process .
3. The patients is administered anesthesia and our dentist makes a small incision in the gum to reach the jawbone.
4. The small titanium post is installed directly into the jawbone.
5. Once the post is in place, the crown is screwed on top of the post.
Mini implants are done in about 2-3 weeks, as opposed to 3-6 months for regular implants. They cost less, are completed easier and have a simpler recovery process.

To learn more about mini dental implants, visit dentist Dr. Alan Dilsaver in Easton, PA.