Mint Hill Smiles

Dentist in Mint Hill, NC

Dental Implants in Mint Hill, NC | Mint Hill Smiles

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Dental Implants · Mint Hill, NC

Losing a tooth changes things

It changes the way you chew. It changes the way you speak. It changes what you see when you smile. And if the tooth is not replaced, it sets off a chain of events in the surrounding bone and neighboring teeth that continues long after the extraction has healed. A dental implant stops that chain. It replaces not just the visible crown of the tooth but the root itself. This keeps the jawbone healthy and the surrounding teeth stable.

Implants are the closest thing to a natural tooth that modern dentistry can offer. At Mint Hill Smiles we plan and place implants using the most advanced imaging and guidance technology available, and we restore them with custom-made porcelain crowns. If you are missing a tooth or facing an extraction, you should read this page before you make any decisions.

The Reality

Why We Choose Implants Over Other Options

A dental implant is a small titanium post that is placed surgically into the jawbone in the position of the missing tooth root. Titanium is biocompatible, which means the body accepts it and the surrounding bone grows to bond with the implant surface over a healing period. This process is called osseointegration. Once that bond is established, the implant is as stable as a natural tooth root. It does not move, it does not shift, and it does not require the neighboring teeth to do anything they were not already doing.

After the implant has integrated, typically over a period of several months, a custom abutment and crown are attached to the top of the post. At Mint Hill Smiles we scan the site with our digital intraoral scanner and send it to our favorite lab to produce a porcelain restoration that matches the shape, size, and color of your surrounding teeth. The result looks like a tooth, feels like a tooth, and functions like a tooth.

No adhesive. No removing it for cleaning. No dietary restrictions beyond what you already follow. You brush it and floss it the same way you do everything else in your mouth.

Why We Choose Implants Over Other Options

When a single tooth is lost and needs to be replaced, there are essentially three ways to approach it: an implant, a bridge, or leaving the space empty. Let’s talk about all three.

Leaving the space empty is almost never the right long-term answer. When a tooth root is no longer present in the jawbone, the body interprets that as a signal that bone is no longer needed in that location and begins to resorb it. This bone loss is progressive and affects the contour of the jaw, the stability of neighboring teeth, and in cases of multiple missing teeth, the overall shape of the face over time. It also makes future implant placement more complex and costly if you change your mind later.

A bridge is a reasonable solution in specific situations. When the neighboring teeth already have large restorations or crowns, as a dentist I am more willing to recommend a bridge. A bridge uses those neighboring teeth as anchors for a prosthetic tooth in the middle. It is fixed, functional, and often covered by insurance. The limitation is that cutting down healthy teeth for a bridge involves removing tooth structure that did not need to be removed, and a bridge does not address the bone loss that occurs at the site of the missing root.

An implant preserves the bone. It leaves neighboring teeth completely untouched. It is the only replacement option that addresses the underlying biology of tooth loss rather than just filling the visible gap. For most patients in most situations, it is the most conservative and most cost-effective choice over the full lifetime of the restoration.

I have a couple of patients who have had bridges for years and are actually in the process of having the bridges removed and implants placed to replace the missing teeth instead. This is a lengthy and costly transition and these people truly understand the benefits of preserving their jaw bone and want the ease of brushing and flossing normally again.

How We Place Implants at Mint Hill Smiles

The precision of the planning in an implant case directly affects the outcome for you. Before we ever place an implant, we take a CBCT cone beam scan. That is a full three-dimensional image of your jawbone, nerve canals, sinus anatomy, and surrounding structures. This is not something every implant provider does. Knowing exactly where the bone is, how dense it is, where the nerves run, and how the anatomy of the site relates to the neighboring teeth allows us to plan the placement with a level of accuracy that a standard two-dimensional X-ray cannot provide.

We use surgical guides for implant placement. A surgical guide is a custom-fabricated device that fits over your teeth and directs the implant to the exact position and angle we planned digitally. This removes the guesswork from the most critical step of the procedure and makes the surgery faster, safer, and produces more predictable results.

The placement procedure itself is done under local anesthetic. Most patients describe it as feeling similar to a tooth extraction but easier. There is much less pressure when placing an implant. The appointment typically takes 60 to 90 minutes.. You go home the same day with post-operative instructions and a healing timeline, and you are comfortable returning to normal activities within a day or two for most cases.

After a healing period of several months, during which the implant integrates with the surrounding bone, you return for the restoration appointment. We scan the site, wait a couple of weeks, and place the final restoration. In most cases the complete process from placement to final crown involves three clinical appointments.

What Happens to the Bone Without an Implant

The jawbone that surrounds and supports a tooth root is maintained by the functional stimulation that comes from that root being present. When the tooth and root are removed and nothing replaces the root, that stimulation stops. The bone responds by gradually resorbing. Shrinking in height and width at the site of the missing tooth. In the first year after an extraction, bone volume loss at the site can be significant. Over several years, multiple missing teeth, or a full arch of missing teeth, this bone loss becomes visible in the shape of the jaw and the contours of the face.

This is one of the most important reasons we recommend placing a bone graft at the time of extraction when an implant is being considered for the future. A bone graft placed in the socket immediately after the tooth is removed preserves the bone volume while the site heals, keeping the implant option viable and reducing the complexity of the implant procedure later.

If you have already had a tooth extracted and significant time has passed, we may still be able to place an implant with or without additional bone grafting. The answer depends on what the CBCT scan shows us about the current state of the bone. 

Candidacy

Who Is a Good Candidate for Implants

The large majority of healthy adults are candidates for dental implants. A few factors affect candidacy and we evaluate all of them carefully at your consultation.

Adequate bone volume at the implant site is the first requirement. Without sufficient bone to anchor the implant, integration cannot occur. In many cases where bone volume is limited, bone grafting, either at the time of extraction or as a staged procedure before implant placement, can create the conditions needed for a successful implant. In cases where advanced bone grafting procedures are necessary we refer to surgeons that we know and trust. 

Active gum disease needs to be treated and stable before implant placement. The same bacterial environment that leads to gum disease around natural teeth can affect the tissue around an implant, so ensuring the foundation is healthy first is a prerequisite for a good long-term outcome.

Certain medical conditions and medications affect healing and may require additional evaluation or coordination with your physician. We ask about your full medical history at your consultation. In most cases conditions like diabetes or a history of bisphosphonate medications require more careful planning rather than disqualifying implants entirely.

Tobacco use affects implant healing and integration rates. We always discuss this with patients who smoke and factor it into our recommendations.

If you have been told you are not a candidate for implants by another provider, we encourage you to come in for a consultation. Candidacy assessment requires a thorough evaluation and current imaging. A second opinion with updated information is always worth having.

The Investment

Dental implants require a more significant upfront investment than a bridge or leaving a space empty. We want to be straightforward about that while also putting it in context.

A single tooth implant with crown at Mint Hill Smiles is priced competitively for the Charlotte market, and the long-term cost-effectiveness compared to a bridge, which may need to be replaced over a lifetime and involves the ongoing risk of decay and failure at the anchoring teeth, is well established. An implant that integrates successfully and is well maintained can last decades. The restoration cost of failure over the same time period, in either untreated bone loss or repeated bridge replacement, typically exceeds the implant investment significantly.

We offer financing through CareCredit, Alpheon, and Proceed Finance for patients who want to spread the cost of implant treatment over time. Our team will walk you through all financial options before you commit to anything. Many dental insurance plans provide partial coverage for implants as well, and we verify your specific benefits before your consultation so you understand what to expect.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About Dental Implants

The procedure is performed under local anesthetic and most patients are surprised by how manageable it is. Pressure and movement are normal during placement but sharp pain is not, and we address it immediately if it occurs. Post-operative discomfort is typically mild to moderate and well managed with over-the-counter pain relief for most patients. Most people return to normal activities within one to two days.
From placement to final crown, the complete process typically takes four to six months, most of which is healing time rather than active treatment. If bone grafting is needed before implant placement, additional healing time is required before the implant can be placed.

With proper home care and regular professional maintenance, a well-placed and well-integrated implant can last many decades. Maintaining your implant is identical to maintaining natural teeth: brush, floss, and come in for your regular cleanings.

No. Many patients have sufficient bone volume at the implant site to proceed directly to placement without any grafting. Our CBCT scan helps us determine if you need grafting. Where bone volume is inadequate, grafting is the solution that makes implant placement possible, and we walk you through that process clearly if it applies to your situation.
Coverage varies significantly by plan. Some plans provide partial coverage for the implant, the abutment, or the crown, while others classify implants as cosmetic and provide no coverage. Our team verifies your specific benefits before your consultation and goes through the financial picture with you in detail before any treatment is planned.
Not necessarily. The longer a tooth has been missing, the more bone loss will typically have occurred at the site, which may require bone grafting before an implant can be placed. Whether implant placement is still feasible depends on what the current imaging shows. Come in for a consultation and we will give you an answer based on what we actually see.

Ready to Talk About Implants?

A consultation at Mint Hill Smiles starts with a conversation and a thorough evaluation. We will review your imaging, assess the site, and give you a clear picture of what is possible and what it involves.

We serve patients from Mint Hill, Matthews, Indian Trail, Stallings, Weddington, Midland, Albemarle, and southeast Charlotte, NC. We accept most major insurance plans including Delta Dental, Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and United Healthcare. Financing is available.

Call (704) 323-7577 or visit minthillsmiles.dentist to schedule your implant consultation. We are at 11300 Cresthill Drive, Suite 105, Mint Hill, NC 28227.

A missing tooth deserves a real solution. We are here to help you find it.

Book your appointment today