Replacing your missing teeth is an exciting journey we can’t wait to take you on. If you’ve settled on dental implants as your choice, you’re in for a lifetime of a highly stable and functional replacement option that feels close to natural teeth. During your procedure, there is one aspect that not all patients have included. This involves the placement of healing caps. People who don’t get healing caps sometimes worry that they aren’t getting them. We’re here to tell you not to worry. It’s not always necessary to use healing caps.
What are Dental Implant Healing Caps?
Healing caps, also known as dental implant healing abutments, can offer some importance to your dental implant procedure. Their primary job is to help manage soft tissue around the dental implant to ensure an attractive result. After placing the dental implants, your gums start to heal. We want to make sure they heal in the proper shape to achieve attractive results. The healing cap provides a framework for the gums to heal around, just the way they would grow around your natural tooth.
The dental implant healing abutment also protects your dental implants from occlusal pressure. Occlusion is when your opposing teeth come together. The implant might not be ready to deal with pressure from an opposing tooth when it is first placed by an implant dentist. If that’s the case, a healing cap can help us contour your gums without suffering the full pressure of meeting up with another tooth.
The healing cap also creates a seal with your gum tissue to protect your dental implant from contamination from oral bacteria or food that can lead to infection.
If you don’t get healing caps placed, it’s important to pay attention if your implants become loose. If they do become loose, you need to contact us as soon as possible so we can place them back into place. This will help you avoid your dental implant falling out.
Why You Might Not Get Dental Implant Healing Caps
Not everyone gets healing caps with their dental implants. You may not get healing caps if your dental implant is very stable or very unstable.
With stable implants, you may be eligible to get your dental crowns or implant dentures placed immediately. These may be temporary restorations, but they will cause some pressure on implants. With relatively stable implants, this is good, as it can encourage healing. Gum tissue will heal around your restoration in the way it might around a healing cap.
However, if your implants are loose, we might not want to risk healing caps. With healing caps, your dental implant will still get some incidental pressure from food, your tongue, and other things in your mouth. If we’re really concerned about your implant, we will leave it covered under your gums. In this case, we may put a healing cap on later to help condition your gums.
Do I Need Implant Healing Abutments?
When you visit our Orange County dental implant dentist for a consultation, we will take CT scans of your mouth to evaluate your bone density and start planning your procedure. We will also learn during this time whether or not you’re a good candidate for dental implants. If you require more bone, we can always provide you with a bone graft.
With all the information we collected, we will let you know how many implants your procedure requires and determine whether or not you will require implant healing abutments. The only way to find out if you require them is to visit us for a consultation. We provide every patient with an individual and custom approach to their procedure since no two mouths are the same.
Get Dental Implants in Orange County
If you’re searching for an implant dentist in Orange County, look no further than Rice Dentistry. Each dentist on our team has extensive training and experience placing and restoring dental implants. Whether you need one tooth replaced or an entire mouth, we offer gorgeous tooth replacements that will leave you with a stunning smile.
Do you have more questions about implant dentistry in Orange County? Want to find out if dental implants are right for you? Please call (949) 551-5902 for an appointment with an implant dentist at Rice Dentistry in Irvine.
