How to Choose a Dental Implant Dentist by Meredi Wagner-Hoehn

You’ve lost a tooth due to injury, gum disease or natural aging, and you’ve decided to get a dental implant for the most stable, permanent tooth replacement option. Now comes the hard part: finding a skilled, caring medical professional to conduct your dental implant surgery.

Although it can take hours to dredge through the many options spanning the breadth of the capital city, it’s ultimately worth it to take that time, not proceeding with the first dentist in the Yellow Pages. Interview your potential practitioners; you need to trust the person conducting surgery in your mouth. Here are a few questions you should ask before committing yourself to a particular dentist.

Ask why they’re qualified to conduct this particular oral surgery. Implant dentistry requires specialized certification. Not every dentist has this advanced training. All dentists are required to continue their education as long as they practice dentistry; with cutting-edge dental technologies developing all the time, a dentist has an obligation to their patients to offer the most applicable procedure for their given dental condition. However, not all dentists choose to study the same subjects. While one cosmetic dentist may have undergone the training to offer a dental implant, another Austin dentist may have chosen to study invisible aligners instead. Just because your dentist has always been able to serve your needs before doesn’t mean they can for this particular procedure. A periodontist, however, trains for implant dentistry during their required studies. If your dentist doesn’t offer implant dentistry, ask them to refer you to a skilled Austin periodontist.

Ask to see examples of their work. A good dentist or periodontist understands their patients’ concern over their oral health, and will do everything they can to alleviate that worry. Oftentimes, this entails keeping a portfolio of case studies exemplifying their abilities. This before-and-after gallery should not only assuage your doubt but also display the dentist’s or periodontist’s abilities.

Ask for details about the dental implant preparation process. This will help you to prepare for your procedure, securing the most positive results possible. Additionally, this should notify you of any other hidden procedures you may need prior to the dental implant. For example, dental x-rays should occur before your oral surgery. Your dentist or periodontist should be able to tell by looking at that x-ray if you have enough bone to safely proceed. If you don’t, you may require a sinus lift before you can get a dental implant.

If you’re interested in dental implant therapy, talk to your dentist about your options. For a direct source, call Dr. Mike Williamson, DDS, an Austin periodontist with years of implant dentistry experience. He offers a free initial consultation to answer your dental implant questions.