Dr. William R. Walton, DDS, has established a dental practice devoted to aesthetic restorative dentistry, enhancing the natural beauty of people’s smiles for over 20 years. Dr. Walton offers many services to beautify one’s smile, such as installing dental implants for teeth diagnosed with terminal decay.

Walton tells the story of one of his patients who needed a dental implant procedure that would change their life.

“We put in implants and dentures that anchored into those implants and he had a new outlook on life,” Walton said. “He could smile, he could eat, he could function—and he’s not embarrassed to open his mouth anymore.”

Simply put, a dental implant is something that replaces your teeth. There are three components of the implant—the actual implant, which is the body that goes into the bone, acts as a concrete anchor to the bone. The abutment, which is similar to a post that goes into the implant, and the new tooth or crown can go on top of it.

“The actual implant is made of titanium, and the reason it works is that your body accepts that titanium—it integrates with your bone and the bone will grow into that implant, which makes it solid,” said Walton, describing the phenomena of what is called “osseointegration.” “That process takes anywhere from three to six months, depending on the patient and the type of bone they have.”

And that’s just for a single tooth. Walton says there are implant procedures where people can replace all their teeth with an implant. People don’t necessarily need an implant for each tooth; sometimes, you can have four or five implants with a cohesive denture that acts as a framework of the teeth. That’s the case with many of Walton’s patients.

“Implants with a denture just change people’s lives,” Walton said. “It’s pretty rewarding when you see them make that step towards feeling better about their smiles.”

To learn more about the services offered at Dr. Walton’s office, visit http://williamwaltondds.com/ or call (562-421-5314.)