When you go in for a consultation regarding dental implants, you may already have in mind how it will go. You will find out if you are a candidate for dental implants, what alternative treatments may be available, how much it may cost and when the appointment could be scheduled. One thing you may not be anticipating is the option of related procedures that can help your dental implants. Here are a few of those, and what you should know about them.

Bone Reduction

One of the common procedures you will hear has to do with bone grafting. This is a procedure that will build back up areas of the mouth where bone has degraded over the years due to tooth decay. Bone grafting can be painful and the healing time can last a considerable amount of time. An alternative for you may be bone reduction. This procedure levels the bone, in cases where bone degrading is not severe, to make an even area for the dental implants. This means the resulting smile will be even and no bone grafting will be necessary.

3-D Planning

You may be used to having X-rays and even digital X-rays done on your mouth during a dental visit or consultation. What you may not be used to is hearing about how 3-D planning can play into your dental implant procedures. This type of planning allows your dentist to use software combined with your digital X-rays to create a working plan for your dental implants. It allows them to see what problems may arise during the procedure and come up with alternative ways to fix them. This is ideal if you want to be sure what you and your dentist are getting into before you settle on implants as an option.

Sinus Lift

Some of the procedures that may be discussed during your consultation will deal with facial options like a sinus lift. The sinus lift is used to help the patient breath better and cut down on sinus pressure and pain. It is combined with the dental implant procedure so that both issues are fixed at the same time. This may be an option for you if you have been having headaches and sinus related issues related to your teeth and the pressure build-up from your mouth, gum line and tooth issues. This procedure, if you choose to have it done, can also be included in the 3-D planning option.

These are just three of the related procedures you may encounter during a dental implant consultation. If you are ready to move forward with your possible implant procedure, contact your dentist for a consultation and any referrals that may be necessary.

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