Explore Your Tooth Replacement Options with Dental Implants in Virginia Beach, VA

There are a variety of reasons that adults lose their permanent teeth, including injury, periodontal disease, decay, and more. If you have lost even one tooth, you understand the negative impact that it can have on your life on a daily basis. You don’t feel like smiling much around others, and eating your favorite foods may become exceedingly difficult. Fortunately, dental implants can help you achieve a whole smile once again. At Smile by Design, Dr. Vinita Folck and Dr. Stephanie Santos offer a comprehensive range of restorative dentistry solutions to patients in Virginia Beach, VA, including tooth replacement with dental implants.

Are Dental Implants Right for Me?

A dental implant is a tiny titanium post that is used to secure a custom restoration like a crown, a bridge, or a denture. Because an implant stimulates and supports the jaw bone, it actually aids in preserving the structure of your face as well as your remaining teeth. Patients who wore dentures for years before opting for dental implants can’t believe the difference that they make in their daily lives. Finally, you are free to eat, laugh, speak, and smile with total confidence.  

The majority of patients who are missing teeth are good candidates for dental implants. An assessment of your periodontal health and the bone density in your jaw will help to determine your candidacy, but even patients with insufficient jaw bone density may qualify for implants with the help of a bone graft. A consultation with our Virginia Beach, VA dental implants experts is your first step toward restoring your smile’s function and beauty in a way that looks and feels completely natural.

Schedule Your Consultation Today

If you are missing one or more teeth and you’d like to find out if dental implants are the right choice for you, we invite you to contact our office today to schedule your consultation with our experienced and caring team. We’ll take the time to sit down with you to discuss your unique needs and answer your questions in a way that’s easy to understand. Conveniently located in Virginia Beach, VA, our family-friendly dental practice warmly welcomes patients from throughout communities in the surrounding areas, including Fort Story, Sandbridge, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and more.

How Do You Know When to Get Dentures?

The number of US adults needing dentures is projected to increase from 33.6 million in 1991 to 37.9 million in 2020. Dentures are not inevitable for most people if they actively practice good oral hygiene habits and keep semi-annual dental checkups. Without these long-term measures in place however, gum disease and tooth decay, the main culprits of tooth loss, may win out. Gum disease causes about 70% of adult tooth loss and affects 3 out of 4 people at some point in their lives. Make an appointment with the experienced and caring dentists of Smile By Design to discuss your tooth replacement options. Dr. Santos and Dr. Folck can help you decide if the time is right to get dentures to replace your missing teeth. Smile by Design proudly serves patients throughout the Virginia Beach area, including Norfolk, Sandbridge, Portsmouth and Fort Story.

Dentures Can’t Fully Replace Missing Teeth

Tooth loss is avoidable today unless you neglect your teeth by not brushing, flossing and regularly visiting the dentist. When this happens, tooth decay and gum disease can progress to bone loss, which in turn can lead to tooth loss and possibly dentures.  Dentures should be a last resort because there is no perfect substitute for your natural teeth.

Losing your natural teeth is more than just an esthetic issue. The average adult bite force with natural teeth is somewhere around 200-250 pounds; with dentures, your bite force is reduced significantly to about 50 pounds. This makes it increasingly difficult to chew and digest certain foods like fruits and meats. Also, if you use upper dentures, the taste buds on the roof of your mouth will be covered, which can significantly reduce your sense of taste. Lastly, getting full dentures may cause your face to age more rapidly than peers that still have their natural teeth. This is because the bone that was used to support your natural teeth reabsorbs into the body. As the top of the mouth reabsorbs upwards, and the bottom of the mouth reabsorbs downwards, the space between your nose and chin shrinks, giving you an overall aged look.

Dentures and Dental Implants in Virginia Beach, VA

If you are facing the need to replace a large number of missing, or soon to be missing teeth, you are not alone. It’s estimated that 29% of Americans ages 45 to 55, 16% of Americans ages 35 to 44, and 3% of Americans ages 18 to 34 wear either full or partial dentures. These dentures don’t last forever and need to be replaced every 5-7 years, and relined every 2 years.  Although dentures aren't always easy to wear, not replacing your missing teeth isn’t a good option because the pressure on the remaining teeth is too great. Fortunately today, dental implants offer an attractive alternative to dentures. Choosing to get dental implants eliminates the side effect of premature aging because the implant replaces the tooth root and bone in your jaw. Also, dental implants have a bigger bite force than regular dentures because they are cemented into the jawbone for added stability. To discuss your tooth replacement options, make an appointment with Smile By Design today. The gentle dentists at Smile By Design proudly serve patients in and around Virginia Beach, VA, Norfolk, Sandbridge, Portsmouth and Fort Story.

Restore Your Smile with Dental Implants!

Having teeth missing from your smile can be detrimental to the way you feel about yourself as well as the way you interact with the people around you. Our smiles are how we show friendliness to others, nourish ourselves, and communicate with people. If you have a smile that is not complete, you may feel as though there is nothing that can bring back the life your smile once had. Though you may have considered dentures and partials as tooth replacements, you may be wanting a more permanent solution to your smile woes. Thankfully, Dr. Stephanie L. Santos and Dr. Vinita John Folck are able to give you the smile you have been wanting by offering dental implants to their patients at their Virginia Beach, VA dental office.

Dental implants are a permanent solution to having a smile that is not full, and it yields amazing results. You begin the process with a consultation with one of our doctors. They will have to determine whether or not you are a candidate for dental implants my evaluating the current state of your smile, your gum health, and your bone density. Dental implanting involves embedding a titanium post into your jaw bone. Over time, the post will promote healthy bone growth, as well as fuse with the implant itself, creating a strong bond. Once the proper amount of healing has taken place, our doctors will make custom crowns to place atop the implant. The crowns look just like natural teeth, making your smile makeover look as organic as possible.

One of the amazing things about dental implants is that you are able to regain the confidence you may have lost. Feeling insecure about your smile is never easy on anyone, and when you feel confident in the way you look, many positive things are sure to follow. If you would like our doctors to help restore your smile with dental implants, contact our office today!

Contact our office in Virginia Beach, VA today to schedule your visit with our team, and explore the possibilities of dental implants for yourself. We look forward to helping you reveal your most beautiful and confident smile yet. Our practice serves patients throughout the Virginia Beach area, including Norfolk, Sandbridge, Portsmouth, Fort Story, and beyond.

Why Are Dental Implants So Effective?

You may have heard about dental implants and how effective they are, but do you know why they’re so effective? It’s because of how they’re structured and how they interact with your smile.

Natural teeth are made up of two parts: the tooth itself, which is what everyone sees, and the root underneath that anchors each tooth to the jaw. A full row of healthy teeth is important for smiling, speaking clearly and enjoying a nutritious diet. Meanwhile, your tooth roots have the very important job of holding those teeth in place and keeping the jaw healthy throughout life.

What happens when you lose one or more teeth? You not only lose what’s on top, you also lose the root underneath. As a result, you’ll eventually lose bone tissue where the root was. Traditional bridges, partials and dentures replace what you’ve lost but don’t replace the part of your smile responsible for keeping the rest of your jaw strong and healthy.

The only service that replaces missing roots is dental implants. Using small posts made of titanium—a biocompatible metal—this restorative service can help you achieve results that look natural and functional naturally as well. Imagine smiling with confidence and enjoying all your favorite foods again. With dental implants from Smile by Design, Dr. Santos and Dr. Folck can help.

Do you want to know if you’re a candidate for dental implants? Call us today for a consultation. Dr. Santos and Dr. Folck want to help you enjoy optimal oral health, and for some patients dental implants are the best way to make that happen.

Smile by Design offers restorative care to patients from Virginia Beach, Fort Story, Sandbridge, and beyond. 

Effective Restorative Care for Virginia Beach and Beyond

In our last post, we talked about cosmetic dentistry, which is all about helping patients improve the appearance of their teeth. Today we’d like to focus of restorative dentistry, which is all about improving the functionality of a patient’s teeth. In some cases that means repairing ones that are damaged, while at other times it means restoring ones that have been lost.

Why is restorative dental care important? Because without it, patients may have trouble chewing or speaking clearly. Damaged or missing teeth also increase one’s vulnerability to gum disease or decay, plus additional tooth loss. Patients may also experience bone loss in their jaw, develop bite problems, or see their appearance change.

Regardless of your own needs and what you’ve experienced, Dr. Folck and Dr. Santos are confident they can help. They offer a range of today’s best restorative dentistry services, including:

• Dental Implants
• Dentures and Partials
• Tooth-Colored Fillings
• CEREC One-Visit Crowns

But which one of these services is right for you? Dr. Folck and Dr. Santos would be happy to answer that for you with a consultation visit. Following an oral exam, we can help you understand your needs and devise a plan that will help you meet them. Depending on your needs, completing your restorative dentistry plan may only take one visit, or it may take several visits over the course of a few months. Regardless, a healthier, more functional smile will be waiting for you at the end.

Do you need restorative dental care? Call Smile by Design today for an appointment. We offer excellent restorative dental care to patients from Virginia Beach, Fort Story, Sandbridge, and beyond.