Congratulations on taking the first step toward better oral and overall health by replacing missing teeth.

It’s important to know that, should you ultimately opt for dental implants, your trusted dental providers at the Smile Center will be with you every step of the way. Unlike other dental practitioners in Greater Buffalo, Dr. Gordon Kent and his team perform all aspects of this multi-step process in-house.

Other practices do not have the capabilities to fulfill all your dental implant needs. These dentists refer patients to specialists at certain points during the treatment, which only adds stress to patients embarking on achieving a better-looking and better-functioning smile with implants.

Below are some of the steps most commonly referred out to other specialists but those that, notably, the Smile Center keeps in-house — representing one of the big ways Dr. Kent and his team distinguish themselves and ensure the best patient experience possible:

• Preparation – Some general dentists may refer you to a specialist for an initial consultation, so he or she can determine your needs. Depending on considerations such as the volume of bone lost during the time you went without teeth, the bone may need to be grafted to build up the treatment area. There must be sufficient bone to support the dental implant and the crown connected to the implant.
• Implant placement – Very frequently, a dentist may handle your initial consultation but then have an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, prosthodontist, or periodontist surgically place the implant in your jawbone. Dr. Kent has been placing dental implants longer than any professional in the Cheektowaga region, so there is no need to go to another office for a procedure with a specialist you may not know or trust.
• Sedation options – Whereas most general dentists legally are only able to offer laughing gas to calm anxious patients, the Smile Center passed strict requirements to provide both enteral or oral sedation and IV sedation in addition to laughing gas. These alternatives relax even the most fearful patients and may be better suited to the implant process, given the nature of this procedure.
• In-house lab – If you need a permanent crown to cover an implant or if you need other types of restorations, in most cases you would have to wait about two weeks as an outside lab fabricated the new tooth or tooth structure. At the Smile Center, the implant-supported tooth is designed and made in-house, which adds to the convenience of a process that can be quite time-consuming and energy-draining should patients have to travel from one office and doctor to another office and doctor.

The Smile Center staff is also equipped to remove cost barriers associated with getting new teeth. Dr. Kent and his team will work with insurance companies to get the benefits you have paid for, and payments may be stretched over several months courtesy of many financing options. If you don’t have insurance, never fear. The Smile Center Plan relieves the financial burden associated with dental implants and other procedures by offering free preventive and discounted treatment services for a low annual fee to the uninsured.