Dental Implants Specialist

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are replacement artificial tooth roots that Dr. Ahn surgically implants in your jawbone. After Dr. Ahn places the implants, your bone tissue grows around them and holds them firmly in place. 

Dental implants and prostheses come in different shapes and sizes and can be custom-made.

What are the benefits of dental implants?

Dental implants offer many benefits. They’re more durable and last longer than traditional dental prosthetics. If you take good care of your dental implants, they can last a lifetime. Ridgecrest Dentistry provides dental implants due to the many benefits. Dental implants:

• Are comfortable
• Help preserve your jawbone
• Help prevent future bone loss
• Make speaking and eating easier
• Enhance your smile and physical appearance
• Make flossing and brushing easier

You might choose dental implants if you’re tired of your traditional dentures falling out or becoming loose and uncomfortable.

What’s involved in getting dental implants?

The process of getting dental implants usually takes around six months to a year. All implant surgeries at Ridgecrest Dentistry are computer-guided and quick and painless thanks to advanced dental tools and technology. Only a few dental offices in the US provide this service.

Dr. Ahn surgically places your implants into your jawbone in-office using the advanced CBCT (cone beam computed tomography) machine. Ridgecrest Dentistry is the only office in Ridgecrest that has a CBCT machine — a state-of-the-art X-ray machine that takes low radiation 3D images of your facial bones, sinuses, teeth, and nerves. The CBCT machine allows for precise, safe, and optimal implant surgical planning.

Using information from both the CBCT imaging and the intraoral CEREC® scanning device, Dr. Ahn can plan the implant surgery and design your restoration on the computer. Dr. Ahn uses this imaging to determine the best possible shape and location of your final implant crown. This process also helps ensure your implant is placed at the right depth and angle.

Ridgecrest Dentistry sends all CBCT scans and surgical plans to Germany where a special surgical guide is milled and returned to the office.

After the initial implant surgery, your jawbone needs time to heal, and the recovery process is different for everyone. It usually takes around 3-6 months for your jawbone and implants to successfully fuse together in a process called osseointegration.  

After your jawbone and implants fuse together, you return to Ridgecrest Dentistry where Dr. Ahn attaches your new crowns or replacement teeth to your implants.

Dr. Ahn can create your new crown in-office on the special CEREC milling machine in as little as 45 minutes. 

Dr. Ahn is a member of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry and has extensive experience in implant dentistry. He’s placed over 1,000 implants with an exceptionally high success rate. 

Find out how dental implants can restore your smile and click or call Ridgecrest Dentistry today.