Dental Implants in Alexandria, VA

For a modern, trusted solution for missing teeth, our dentists often recommend permanent dental implants! Dental implants offer a natural-looking and long-lasting alternative to traditional dentures or bridges. These innovative implants are designed to mimic the structure and function of your natural teeth, providing a durable and aesthetically pleasing solution for missing teeth.

With a caring team, customized treatment plans, and the latest treatment technologies, our team can replace one or more lost teeth with top dental implant solutions in Alexandria, VA and beyond!

What are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are made of titanium, a biocompatible material that integrates seamlessly with your jawbone. This process, known as osseointegration, creates a strong and stable foundation for your new teeth.

Why Choose Dental Implants?

Dental implants offer a compelling solution for replacing missing teeth, thanks to their multitude of benefits. They are designed to mimic the natural look and feel of your original teeth, allowing you to eat, smile, and speak with confidence. This translates to a significant improvement in your quality of life. Unlike dentures, implants stimulate the jawbone, preventing bone loss and maintaining your facial structure.

Durability is another key advantage – with proper care, dental implants can last for many years, often a lifetime, eliminating the need for frequent replacements that can be experienced with traditional options.

The Dental Implant Process

At U Shine Dental, the dental implant process typically involves several steps. First, Dr. Irene Shin will assess your oral health to determine if you are a suitable candidate for dental implants. Then, the implant is surgically placed into your jawbone. Over several months, the implant fuses with your jawbone. Once the implant has healed, a connector known as an abutment is attached to it. Finally, a crown, bridge, or denture is placed on the abutment to complete the restoration process.

At U Shine Dental, we offer targeted therapies to ensure the best healing for dental implant procedures: 

Platelet-Rich Fibrin (PRF)

At U Shine Dental, we're dedicated to utilizing the most advanced techniques to ensure optimal outcomes for your restorative procedures. That's why we offer Platelet-Rich Fibrin (PRF) Therapy, a cutting-edge approach designed to significantly speed up your body's natural healing and recovery process. PRF is a concentrated byproduct of your own blood, rich in powerful growth factors. These growth factors are essential proteins that act as messengers, allowing cells to communicate and coordinate the complex processes of tissue regeneration and repair.

During a PRF therapy procedure at our Alexandria dental office, we'll take a small sample of your blood. This sample is then placed in a specialized centrifuge machine, which spins it at a high speed to separate and concentrate the beneficial platelets, white blood cells, and other cells containing vital growth factors. The resulting PRF is then carefully reintroduced to the surgical site to promote optimal healing. 

We commonly integrate PRF therapy into our restorative treatments at U Shine Dental, particularly during bone grafting procedures. PRF therapy is safe, effective, and 100% natural. Advantages of using PRF therapy in bone graft procedures include:

• Reduced health risk. Derived from the patient's blood, PRF therapy reduces the risk of infection, disease, allergic reaction, and rejection. 
• Convenient treatment. PRF therapy simply requires a fast, convenient blood draw in an outpatient procedure, performed right here at U Shine Dental. 
• Accelerated healing and recovery. Using the body's natural regenerative capabilities, PRF therapy helps you heal more quickly and comfortably after a procedure, helping the tissue regenerate faster, with reduced discomfort and minimal risk of complications.
• Minimally invasive and multi-functional. PRF therapy is minimally invasive for patients of all ages. In addition to aiding bone grafts for dental implants, PRF therapy can also be applied in placing dental onlays, inlays, and treating cleft lip and palate.

By harnessing your body's own healing potential, PRF therapy offers a safe, effective way to improve the success and efficiency of your restorative treatments at U Shine Dental. 

Sticky Bone

When a tooth is extracted, the bone that once supported it naturally begins to resorb, or shrink, almost immediately. This can lead to a reduction in bone volume that may compromise the success of future dental implant placement. To counteract this and ensure a strong foundation for your implants, our team at U Shine Dental may recommend a ridge augmentation or ridge preservation procedure.

One advanced material we utilize for these procedures is Sticky Bone. Sticky Bone is a highly effective bone graft material created by combining Platelet-Rich Fibrin (PRF) with injectable (liquid) PRF. This unique combination is rich in essential growth factors and stem cells, which significantly accelerate bone regeneration and healing. Here's how it works:

1. PRF provides a stable, fibrin matrix that acts as a scaffold for new bone growth.
2. Injectable PRF, in its liquid form, infuses this matrix with a concentrated dose of growth factors and stem cells, further enhancing the body's natural healing and regenerative capabilities.
3. Together, PRF and injectable PRF form a safe and powerful "sticky" bone grafting tool. When applied to the tooth socket immediately after a dental extraction or during a ridge augmentation procedure, Sticky Bone helps to rebuild and preserve the bone structure. This robust bone foundation is crucial for a successful dental implant integration and long-term stability.

By preventing further bone degeneration and promoting robust new bone formation, Sticky Bone significantly improves the predictability and success rate of your dental implant procedure for more long-lasting results! 

Dental Implant Savings Available

At U Shine Dental, you can save on your new smile with our dental implant savings. Contact us to ask about our in-house discounts for dental implant patients; our friendly team is happy to help you save on the smile restoration you deserve!

Renew Your Smile with Long-Lasting Dental Implants

U Shine Dental offers top-quality dental implants that can restore your smile and improve your overall quality of life. Don't hesitate to schedule your restorative dentistry consult at our Skyline or Old Town office and learn more about how dental implants can benefit you!