Dental Implants in Fort Worth - Summerbrook Dental & Implants

Dr. Eastwood is one of the few implant dentists in the DFW area with the advanced training and skill to remove a broken or infected tooth and replace it with an implant along with any necessary bone or sinus grafting at the same appointment.  This shortens the wait to replace a tooth from 6-9 months at other offices to 3 months with Dr. Eastwood.

With other dental offices, a tooth is extracted and a bone graft is placed. Once the bone graft heals for 3-6 months, an implant is placed and allowed to heal for 3 months. Finally after this the crown or tooth is attached to the implant.

Dr. Eastwood uses minimally invasive techniques and socket disinfection protocols to remove all infections which allows him to place a dental implant at the same appointment. Even if an infection has destroyed bone around the tooth in the area, his bone grafting protocols with socket disinfection allows him to predictably place implants into these areas.  This saves his patients from undergoing multiple procedures at different dental offices, and typically only one surgery and 3 months of healing is required in total before a tooth can be attached to the implant. 

In order to achieve the best results for replacing a tooth with a dental implant, it is important to place an implant when the tooth is removed. This is because Dr. Eastwood places custom healing cap that preserves the exact shape that the original tooth came out of the gumline, so that the gums don’t collapse during healing and lead to recession or areas where food can collect.  This method allows the gums to retain their natural shape so there is minimal disturbance when the implant crown is placed, and the resulting crown looks much more natural. 

The people that come to see us about Full Mouth Dental Implants fall into 2 categories.

First, we meet people who are tired of fixing the same teeth over and over again, frustrated by gum disease that never seems to improve, and are dreading the thought of one day needing dentures. They tell us that even the IDEA of wearing dentures makes them feel OLD, and they can only imagine how much harder it is to eat and smile with giant hockey puck dentures in their mouths.

The second type of people that comes to see us are the ones who are ALREADY wearing dentures. They know what it’s like to try to eat and smile with loose fitting dentures, and are tired of the sore spots and denture glue. They just want to be able to smile, eat, and TASTE their food like a normal human again.

Well… no matter which category YOU fall into… we’ve got your back.

We’ve developed and fine tuned our unique All-On-4 Same Day Smile Solution that can help you “turn back the clock” on decades’ worth of dental problems in just a few hours.

Imagine being able to smile for photos and when you meet people for the first time, without worrying that people are staring.

Imagine going out to eat and ordering anything you want off the menu, without worrying about whether you’re going to be able to chew it properly.

Imagine the CONFIDENCE BOOST of feeling like YOURSELF again.

If this sounds like the kind of help you’ve been looking for… we can’t wait to meet you!

Mini implants are similar to regular dental implants except they are half the size, making them an alternative to regular implants. Long term research has shown that mini implants are not as strong as normal dental implants, and do not hold onto the bone as well long term. Because they are not as strong, typically around twice as many mini implants are placed compared to traditional implants. This means that although they may seem less invasive, if twice as many are being placed the post operative pain and discomfort ends up being about the same. 

Dr. Eastwood will place mini implants if there are very narrow areas between teeth that a traditional implant would not be a good choice for. He will also place them as “temporary” implants while traditional implants are healing if the it is necessary. Because the mini implants are not as strong, it is easy to remove them once the healing is over. 

Implant-retained dentures (also known as snap-in-dentures) are a great solution for those looking for a more secure version of dentures. They still need to be removed to clean under them, and the snap part on the denture will tend to wear out and need to be replaced approximately every 1-2 years

Literature shows that the implants under snap in dentures on the top jaw are not as reliable over the long term due to the softer bone found in the top jaw and the snapping on-off forces. However, bottom jaw snap in denture can last a very long time. Because of this, Dr. Eastwood will only do snap in dentures on the bottom jaw, as he does not wish to perform treatments that will not be long-lasting for his patients. If you wish to get a top snap in denture, there are many other dentists in the DFW area that would be happy to take your money and do them for you. 

A minimum of two implants are placed for lower snap in dentures, and up to 4-6 depending on available bone. 2 implants will stop the denture from sliding out, however it will still be able to move in a see-saw fashion when eating. If 4-6 implants are placed for the snap in denture, the denture is quite stable and has minimal movement when eating. 

This is a permanent fixed option for replacing an arch of teeth. Maybe you’ve heard the terms “Teeth in a Day” or “Same Day Teeth®” – these all refer to the placement of 4-6 dental implants attached to a fixed bridge of teeth. This implant protocol — the “All-on-4” surgical dental implant — is truly revolutionary in that it allows for an entire mouth of teeth to be replaced in as little as one surgery. Benefits:

• The quickest way to chew and smile again. Leave the same day of surgery with your new teeth!
• Predictable minimally invasive surgery using CBCT scans for guided surgical implant placement.
• Easy to care for. No taking dentures out to soak each night.
• Chew as you would with natural teeth again! Order what you want off the menu! No more avoiding your favorite foods like juicy steaks, fresh bread, or corn on the cob.
• No denture glue.
• No more plastic covering the roof of your mouth.
• Feel great about the way your smile looks in the mirror and photos.
• Stop worrying about what you look like when your teeth come out.

The “All-on-4” dental implant protocol is a technically demanding surgery. Dr. Eastwood has advanced dental implant training as part of his comprehensive training across all dental specialties. He’s gained extensive experience in the nuances of the surgical and restorative aspects of this procedure. Given his expertise across all specialties of dentistry, this is one of many “tools” in his toolbox to restore smiles. He has helped hundreds of people who hated their dentures or simply wanted to chew and smile again with Same Day Smile All-on-4 Dental Implant Surgery.