Give Yourself the Gift of Dental Implants This Holiday Season and Enter the New Year with a New Smil

The 1944 Christmas song “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” was penned by schoolteacher Donald Gardner, who faced a class full of toothless kids. While it’s a cute song for a child, it takes on a whole new meaning for an adult with a missing tooth. 

Over 120 million Americans are missing at least one tooth. If you’re among them, there’s something you can do about that this holiday season. Consider giving yourself a gift that lasts a lifetime: a new smile with dental implants. 

Dr. David Blaustein and the Chelsea Dental Aesthetics team offer dental implants here at our New York City office in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

Here’s what you need to know.

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are prosthetic teeth. Each one includes:

• A titanium post 
• An abutment
• A crown

Because we surgically place dental implants into your jaw, they won’t wiggle or slide around. They’re permanently secured in your mouth, so you don’t have to remove them or fuss with denture glue. 

Dr. Blaustein customizes your dental implant treatment plan to replace a single tooth, several teeth, or even a full mouth of teeth with dental implants.

Why dental implants are a great gift to yourself

Missing or damaged teeth can impact your daily life, but implants can restore function and appearance. Dental implants can give you:

A natural appearance

Implants provide a secure foundation for crowns that look and feel like your natural teeth. 

A worry-free smile

Unlike traditional dentures, implants don’t shift or slip. Enjoy your favorite foods worry-free. 

If you’re fully toothless, Dr. Blaustein may recommend implant-retained dentures. In this case, a few implants support all your teeth. That means no messy denture adhesive! 

A confidence boost

With implants, whether in a social setting, at work, or simply out and about, you can feel confident that your smile is healthy and natural-looking.

Improved jaw health

Typically, your tooth roots stimulate your jawbone to grow. When you lose a tooth, you lose this benefit. That means tooth loss can lead to jawbone atrophy and a sunken facial appearance.

Well, good news! Dental implants act as prosthetic tooth roots. They can stimulate bone growth in your jaw, prevent bone loss, and preserve your facial structure. That makes implants more than just a cosmetic choice — they’re an investment in your oral health.

Give yourself a new smile in 2025

Getting a dental implant isn’t a fast process — it takes time for your bones to heal and for the titanium post to fuse with your jawbone. This process is called osseointegration, and it’s what makes implants so sturdy. 

Depending on your situation and the integrity of your jawbone, you may need to factor additional procedures, such as a bone graft, into your timeline. 

In general, the process includes:

• Consultation to confirm that implants are right for you
• Implant placement surgery (and possibly bone grafting)
• Time for your implants to heal
• Fabrication of your prosthetic teeth
• Abutment placement (the piece that connects the implant and prosthetic tooth)
• Final crown placement 

Thinking about how implants can benefit you? Kick off 2025 with a consultation to discuss your options and develop a treatment plan. To get started, request an appointment by phone or online today.