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Monday 9:00am - 6:00pm

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Friday 8:00am - 12:00pm

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Monday 9:00am - 5:00pm

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Phone: 989-773-3560

900 E Bellows St, Mt Pleasant, MI 48858


 


 dental implants
When it comes to replacing missing teeth, implants are the most effective way to restore function and appearance to your smile without disturbing surrounding teeth. But many patients wonder whether the cost of implants is worth it, and how implants can make a noticeable difference compared to a bridge or even partial dentures.

In this post, you will learn five facts about implants to know before choosing them for your mouth.

1. The Visual Tooth You See Isn’t the Implant

That comes from an implant crown, which looks like a natural tooth and covers the abutment, a metal piece that joins the crown and a titanium screw connected to your jaw bone.

The actual tooth part you likely envision when you think of an implant doesn’t happen right away; it’s the last phase of treatment after implant surgery and a recovery period; during that time the screw will fuse to your jaw bone in a process known as osseointegration.

2. Dental Implants Prevent Bone Loss

When you lose teeth, either naturally, from trauma, or extraction, the bone they were attached to no longer receives the stimulation it needs to maintain its strength. As a result, it begins to wear down through a process called resorption.

Partial dentures, full dentures, and bridges do not prevent bone loss; only implants, which fuse to your jawbone, can do that.

3. Implants Protect Surrounding Teeth

Without implants, teeth surrounding gaps can shift, and opposing top teeth can move downwards. This can misalign your bite and cause complications with eating and communicating.

Furthermore, having exposed sockets can increase your risk of gum disease and infection, which can go on to affect other teeth in your mouth.

4. It’s Easy to Maintain Implants

Once they’re fully healed, taking care of your implants is just like maintaining your regular teeth. You’ll brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash, get cleanings, and be able to enjoy a fully functional smile without any hassle.

5. You Won’t Have to Worry About Cavities

Implants are not real teeth, so they cannot develop caries (cavities) or be impacted by other forms of tooth decay. However, surrounding tissues can still become inflamed, so maintaining proper dental hygiene is essential.

If you would like to learn more about dental implants, contact the office of Dr. Kenneth Egger today! With decades of experience, he offers patients in Mount Pleasant, MI, kind, compassionate, and comprehensive care.

Please submit an online form or call 989-773-3560.


How Dental Implants Can Help Your Smile 
It can be quite embarrassing if you have a smile that you are scared to show to other people. Your smile is one of your biggest features, and you must be confident in it. Dental implants are a great way to repair teeth that are badly damaged or replace teeth that are missing. Implants allow you to have the appearance of a full and healthy smile. In this blog, we will go over what dental implants are and how you can benefit from them.

What Is a Dental Implant? 

A dental implant is an oral prosthetic replacement for teeth that are severely damaged or missing. It provides patients with a great way to restore their smiles in a way that looks extremely natural.

Benefits of Dental Implants

Restores Ability to Chew

Dental implants can help you to chew your food effectively again if you are missing teeth and have been having issues with chewing.

Boost Self-Confidence

With a new and improved smile, you can be confident in your daily activities knowing that you have a smile that dazzles. It can be detrimental to your self-confidence if you know that your smile has noticeable cosmetic flaws. Dental implants fix that.

Helps Oral Health

Dental implants do wonders for your oral health. Implants give stability to surrounding teeth and help to keep the jawbone from shrinking due to bone loss. It also helps to preserve the health of the surrounding gums and bones.

Discreet

Dental implants look and feel like natural teeth. This makes them very discreet and almost impossible to detect. Making them a great fix for people that are wanting a natural-looking smile.

Get Your Dental Implants With Dr. Kenneth Egger

If you are struggling with your smile and think dental implants could give you all of the benefits you need, Dr. Kenneth Egger in Mount Pleasant, MI is the perfect dentist to talk to. With nearly 30 years of experience, Dr. Egger has the skills and experience to make sure that your dental implant procedure is handled with precision and care. Contact us today at (989) 7773-3560 or visit us online at mountpleasantmidentist.com to schedule your consultation.


side view portrait of brown-haired guy with bright smileDr. Kenneth Egger of Mount Pleasant, MI, sees many patients in his office who are looking for ways to repair their smile after tooth extraction or loss. While there are various ways to achieve a more beautiful smile that functions properly, there is only one choice that helps maintain the natural bone: dental implants.

What Is a Dental Implant?

A dental implant is essentially a tooth root replacement that is placed into the bone of the jaw. This provides a foundation for a restoration, including a dental crown, dental bridge, or dentures. Implants are highly desirable because they function like natural teeth and can last the rest of one’s life with proper care and attention.

What Are the Three Parts of a Dental Implant?

The three parts of a dental implant include the following:

  • The implant fixture. This titanium screw is placed into the jawbone and acts as the implant’s root.
  • Abutment. This part connects the implant fixture to the restoration, or crown, and is what holds it in place.
  • Restoration/Crown. This part of a dental implant is custom-made to look like your other teeth and appears above the gum line for a natural look and feel. It may be made from porcelain or another hard material that can withstand biting forces on your teeth.

How Long Does It Take To Obtain a Dental Implant?

The entire process typically takes three to six months, depending on how healthy your gums are and how quickly you heal from surgery. Afterward, if you care for your dental implants and your smile as a whole, you can enjoy your implant for a lifetime!

Call Dr. Kenneth Egger Today To Find Out if You Are a Proper Candidate for Dental Implants!

Dental implants continue to be the gold standard in replacing missing and extracted teeth. If you live in the Mount Pleasant, MI area and want to speak to an experienced dental provider in the community, call our office today at 989-773-3560 to request a consultation appointment. We are open to new patients and welcome families into our office for comprehensive dental care!


Young, loving couple enjoying on a Christmas morningIn December’s first frosty blog, we gave you a little pop quiz about some facts surrounding missing teeth and their awesome replacement, the dental implant. Since many people are missing a tooth or two, let’s stay with implants in this final blog of another COVID-stained year.

Let’s get into the pluses of implants, and how Dr. Egger places them for our patients from Mt. Pleasant and the surrounding areas.

What are the advantages of having a dental implant?

When it comes to replacing a tooth, most people think of a bridge. Bridges use crowns on each side of the missing tooth or teeth to cover the remaining teeth, anchoring the artificial teeth on an acrylic base between them. The crowns and the artificial teeth are made as one piece.

Compared to a dental bridge, implants are far superior. Here’s why:

  • Dental implants behave exactly like a natural tooth, so the patient can eat any foods and chew normally.
  • Unlike bridges, where adjacent “abutment teeth” need to be crowned to anchor the bridge holding the false tooth or teeth, implants stand alone.
  • Implants keep adjacent teeth from moving.
  • Implants are load-bearing teeth, so you don’t have to avoid chewing or biting with them. Plus, they transfer energy down into the jawbone just as natural teeth do.
  • Implants have a 90 to 95% success rate and can last for decades, giving the patient back his or her smile and the ability to eat any foods.

How are dental implants placed?

  • Consultation: The implant process begins with a consultation with Dr. Egger, who performs a full oral exam and takes x-rays and a CT scan to determine your jawbone mass.
  • Placement: Next the titanium implant is placed into hole formerly occupied by the tooth root. Dr. Egger may have to drill a small hole into the jawbone to prepare it. The implant is shaped like a screw and is inserted in that fashion.
  • Osseointegration: Now the patient simply waits three to six months as the jawbone naturally grows around and accepts the titanium implant.
  • Abutment: When the jawbone has fully grown around the implant, a small metal post, called an abutment, is attached to the implant and the gum tissue is allowed to heal for around six weeks.
  • Placing the crown: The final step is to place a custom-made porcelain crown onto the abutment. The crown is made to match the color and shape of the surrounding teeth so, once placed, it fits in naturally.

If you’re missing a tooth, 2022 should be the Year of the Dental Implant. Call Dr. Egger at (989) 773-3560, and let’s talk about it.


smiling woman in evening dress with glass of sparkling wine over night lightsOK, that sounds like some sort of science fiction novel title, but it’s not.

Titanium is one of Dr. Egger’s best friends because it is the base, literally, of dental implants. And dental implants are the rock stars of the dental universe. They are the best option for replacing a missing tooth or for anchoring partial dentures to replace a series of missing teeth.

Since we haven’t talked about dental implants in a while here at our blog, let’s devote this last month in a COVID-forgettable year to these mighty dental prosthetics.

Dental implants 101

For many people who don’t read Dentistry Today, they think dental implants are a new thing. They may have only heard about them in the past five years or so. But dental implants have been used for tooth restoration for over 50 years. They’ve actually been around longer than that, just not the modern types made of titanium.

Archeological digs have unearthed implanted seashells and ivory in the jawbone of ancient Mayans and Egyptians. We assume they weren’t conch shells!

The modern dental implant can be traced back to 1952. Swedish orthopedic surgeon, Per-Ingvar Branemark, was studying bone healing and regeneration. He inserted a titanium screw into a rabbit tibia to mend a break but found that when he tried to remove the screw later the bone had fully grown around it and it couldn’t be removed. A decade of research followed, and the modern dental implant debuted in 1965.

Dr. Egger believes dental implants are far and away the best solution to replace a missing tooth, whether it is a tooth that is already gone, or a tooth that is so badly damaged or decayed that it requires extraction.

Some people don’t think you need to replace a missing tooth or two. Bad idea. If you don’t replace a missing tooth the adjacent teeth tend to spread out to fill the gap. This creates problems with your overall bite and tooth alignment.

Fun facts with dental implants

Since we’re into this kind of stuff at Dr. Egger’s. Let’s hit you with a pop quiz on missing teeth and dental implants. How many of these facts do you know?

  • An estimated 69% of Americans aged 35 to 44 have at least one missing tooth.
  • 25% of Americans over age 74 have lost all of their natural teeth.
  • Dental implants are basically a titanium screw that is set into the hole in the jawbone where the natural tooth root was anchored. The jawbone then grows around the implant in a process known as osseointegration.
  • Once in place, implants function like a natural tooth, transferring the energy from biting and chewing down into the jawbone beneath the artificial tooth. This stimulation is responsible for the jawbone continually renewing itself, a process that prevents bone loss.
  • Implants can also be used to anchor partial or complete dentures.
  • Implants now have a 98% success rate.

So, how’d you do? Well, it’s not really your business to know about dental implants, is it? But Dr. Egger and our team know all about these amazing dental prosthetics. If you’re missing a tooth or two, let’s talk about possibly placing dental implants in your jaw. Call us at (989) 773-3560 to schedule an appointment.


It’s easy to think that only the people characterized in the movie Deliverance are missing most or all of their teeth. Truth be told, none other than the esteemed American Dental Association says that 178 million Americans are missing at least one tooth. And, wait for it, 35 million Americans are missing all of their teeth. You read that right. Those stats are coming from places you would expect and many places you wouldn’t…like Mount Pleasant. The ADA also expects those numbers to grow as the country ages.

Holy Deliverance 2 casting call! Holy Hee Haw reunion show! Who knew so many people were missing their teeth?

If you’re one of those statistics, you may be thinking you’d just as soon save a few dollars and NOT have that missing tooth replaced. After all, you lost in when your Uncle Frank got a little overzealous in November’s Turkey Bowl. And what’s the big deal, it’s just a missing tooth, right?

Wrong. There are many reasons to replace your missing tooth with Dr. Egger, preferably with the gold standard of tooth replacement, a dental implant.

  1. Appearance — If you’re missing one of your front teeth, come on! Even professional hockey players get their teeth fixed! Last time we checked, GQ isn’t looking for any models missing one of their front teeth.
  2. Eating ability — If you’re missing a tooth, chewing and biting can be an issue. Plus, every time you do bite into something, you’re putting more pressure on the adjacent front teeth to carry the load. That can wear out those teeth more quickly than normal. If you’re missing a molar chewing can be a problem. This can lead to you not eating certain foods, which can lead to gaps in your nutrition.
  3. Movement — Your teeth that live next to your missing tooth now no longer have any pressure from the tooth next to them to stay in place. Without that pressure the adjacent teeth like to slide over into the gap (think crowded bleachers when one person leaves to go get a hot dog). That makes for some lovely alignment issues, which can create bite issues, which can lead to TMJ disorders.
  4. Jawbone ‘b Gone — If you’re missing a tooth or a couple of teeth, you’re also placing a bet on your jawbone, and it’s a losing bet. You see, the teeth take the enormous force generated when biting and chewing and they transfer that energy directly down through the teeth into the jawbone they are anchored in. That energy signals the jawbone to keep producing new bone cells, shedding old ones. That’s what you call regeneration, and that’s what keeps your jawbone healthy and full-sized. When there isn’t any stimulation coming down through that missing tooth, the jawbone beneath it begins to deteriorate. Over time, that deterioration, particularly if you’re missing a couple teeth in one spot, can become dramatic and that area of your face can begin to collapse inward. Don’t believe it? Check out the face of a person missing all of their teeth.
  5. Implants are like teeth, only with a little titanium — A dental implant with its titanium base accepted and integrated into the jawbone behaves exactly like a natural tooth. You can eat whatever you want. Caring for them is no different than your regular teeth. And now you don’t look like you should be playing a banjo on a porch in North Georgia.

Isn’t it time to replace that missing tooth, or to do something about that tooth with the serious decay? Call Dr. Egger at (989) 773-3560 and let’s talk about a dental implant.


We often see patients who are missing a tooth or two. They may have knocked a tooth out during a pond hockey game or during a family “touch” Turkey Bowl game. A tooth could have had excessive decay and there wasn’t any way to save it.

The why doesn’t matter; it’s the why not replace it that matters. Dr. Egger believes dental implants are far and away the best dental prosthetic and he places them all the time in his Mt. Pleasant practice.

It’s just a tooth, right?

People assume that missing a single tooth isn’t any big deal. It’s just a tooth. That’s especially the case with molars. No one can see the gap, so why bother to replace it?

Many reasons actually. Your teeth all stay in place thanks to the pressure placed on them by the teeth next to them. Remove one and the teeth on both sides slide into the gap, kind of how people slide over in the bleacher section at Michigan Stadium when someone gets up to go get a hot dog. This can mess up your alignment and your overall bite. Also, people tend to avoid chewing on the side where they are missing a tooth. This creates more wear on the other side of the mouth, along with other problems. And those are just a couple reasons to replace a missing tooth, which we’ve covered in other blogs.

The best replacement

Now we come to dental implants. If you’re missing a tooth or two, Dr. Egger would like to introduce you to his pal the dental implant. Dental implants get their name from the titanium “implant.” This is a screw-shaped device that screws down into the socket occupied formerly by your natural tooth root. Dr. Egger places the implant and then closes the tiny incision in your gums. Now you wait a few months as your jawbone grows around the implant and makes it a part of your jaw.

When this process called osseointegration is complete, you come back in and Dr. Egger attaches a post to the implant base. You then give it a few weeks for the gums to grow all around the post. For the final step, you return and Dr. Egger attaches the artificial porcelain tooth to the post. Now you have a complete dental implant! It will function just like a natural tooth. It will look just like a natural tooth. Your smile will be complete. You’ll eat normally on both sides again.

And that dental implant will likely last the rest of your life. How cool is that?

So don’t leave that gap in your life. Have that missing tooth replaced with a dental implant at Dr. Egger’s family practice in Mt. Pleasant. He’s been Mt. Pleasant’s most pleasant dentist for approaching 25 years, and he’s placed hundreds of dental implants.

Call us at (989) 773-3560 to make your appointment.


Dental Implants Mount Pleasant, MI

Let the Caribou Migrate, Not Your Teeth

Lots of us lose a tooth. Maybe we took a puck in the kisser during a pond hockey game. Maybe we had a tooth with so much decay it had to be removed. Whatever the reason, 178 million Americans are missing at least one tooth. And they don’t all play in the NHL!

After a person loses a tooth, they often wait to replace it, especially if the tooth is in an inconspicuous place such as in among the molars. Often that initial delay leads to not ever getting the tooth replaced. After all, it’s just a missing tooth, right? Wrong. Waiting or not having a missing tooth replaced can have serious results.

Dr. Egger likes his patients to know the “why” behind their various dental procedures. Here’s the reason to have a missing tooth replaced with an implant or a bridge.

Migrating teeth

Don’t think that caribou, wildebeasts, or Canadian geese are the only things that migrate. When you leave a gap in your teeth, the teeth on both sides of the gap tend to try to move into the gap to fill it. This happens when they no longer have pressure from the teeth on both sides to stay in place. This makes the teeth misaligned and can create problems with chewing and even speaking. Your bite can become affected, making you avoid certain foods. It can lead to temporomandibular jaw disorder.

Jawbone erosion

Jawbone erosion is another possible consequence of tooth loss. In normal conditions, the biting and chewing pressure produced by a tooth stimulates the underlying jawbone to continue regenerating new bone mass. The absence of this bite force energy when you’re missing a tooth creates a spot in the jaw that doesn’t receive the energy and the jawbone can start to degrade in that spot. As jawbone atrophy progresses, it can affect the appearance as the lower third of the face can collapse inward, a characteristic you’ve seen in older people with tooth loss. Jawbone atrophy will also affect the eventual replacement of the tooth with a dental implant, as the jawbone will need a bone grafting procedure to regain enough mass to support the implant.

Dental implants

A dental implant is the preferred tooth replacement method of Dr. Egger. An implant is basically a titanium screw that is placed into the jawbone in the hole from the former tooth root. The bone is then allowed to grow around the implant. Then a titanium post is attached to the implant and an artificial tooth is attached to the post. The false tooth then feels and functions exactly like the natural tooth that was there before. It stops the adjacent teeth from migrating, and it stimulates the jawbone just like a real tooth. Plus, caring for an implant is no different than caring for a natural tooth.

Now you know why you need to replace that missing tooth. Call Dr. Egger at (989) 773-3560 to schedule your next appointment.


Just the Dental Implant Facts, Ma’am

Dental Implants Mount Pleasant, MIDental implants are the best way to replace a tooth. There’s not even a close second. Kind of like Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky and then everyone else!

Dental implants have really taken off in the past decade, and people think they are a relatively new option for replacing missing teeth. But they really aren’t. Archeological digs have unearthed implanted seashells and ivory in the jawbones of ancient Mayans and Egyptians.

Since Dr. Egger loves dental implants, here’s some information on these prosthetic marvels.

Implant invention

The history of the modern dental implant can be traced back to 1952. Swedish orthopedic surgeon, Per-Ingvar Branemark, was studying bone healing and regeneration. He inserted a titanium screw into a rabbit tibia to mend a break, but found that when he tried to remove the screw later the bone had fully adhered to it and it couldn’t be removed. This is the basis of the modern dental implant, which debuted in 1965 after research.

Fifty years later, implants are now relatively commonplace. That’s because once an implant is in place, it functions, feels, and looks just like one of your natural teeth. Dr. Egger places the titanium implant down into the hole from the former tooth root. The implant is shaped like a screw and is screwed into place. Then the jawbone is given a few months to accept and grow around the implant, making it a part of the jaw. A post is then attached to the implant and a porcelain artificial tooth is attached to the post.

Here are some other facts about dental implants:

  • An estimated 69% of Americans age 35 to 44 have at least one missing tooth.
  • 25% of Americans over age 74 have lost all of their natural teeth.
  • Dental implants are made of titanium that is set into the jawbone where the tooth root was. The jawbone then grows around the implant in a process known as osseointegration.
  • Implants are the only dental restoration that preserves and stimulates the natural bone, as a natural tooth does. This stimulation is responsible for the jawbone continually renewing itself, a process that prevents bone loss.
  • Implants can also be used to anchor partial or complete dentures.
  • Implants now have a 98% success rate.

If you’re missing a tooth, let’s get to work placing a dental implant to replace it. Call Dr. Egger at (989) 773-3560 to make an appointment.


Dental Implants Mount Pleasant, MIThese days if you hear the word “implants” it wouldn’t be surprising if you immediately thought of the Kim Kardashians of the world parading about with a new chest.

Dr. Egger is a fan not of Kim Kardashian, but of implants. OK, not those implants…dental implants. Dental implants are the next best thing to your natural teeth and are the superior method for replacing a missing tooth or two.

What is a dental implant?

An implant consists of three parts: the implant (basically the root replacement), the abutment (fancy word for the post), and the crown (fancy term for a false tooth). The implant is made of titanium because the jawbone likes titanium. Once the screw-shaped implant is screwed down into the hole where the tooth root formerly resided, the jawbone grows around the implant, making it a part of the bone. After that process has run its course, a post is attached to the implant. Then atop that post, the false tooth is connected.

Why should you choose dental implants?

Implants have more benefits than some cheesy product you can buy on the Home Shopping Network. But the implant benefits are true!

  • Implants behave exactly like normal teeth. You can eat whatever you want, and caring for them is no different than a natural tooth.
  • They return energy to the jaw. When you bite and chew, a tremendous amount of force is generated. This force runs down through the tooth into the jawbone beneath. It is this energy that keeps your jawbone healthy, signaling it to continually replace and build new cells. Implants deliver this energy just like a real tooth. Missing teeth and dentures don’t provide this same energy, so the jawbone beneath them deteriorates.
  • They last a long time. Implants can last for the rest of the patient’s life.
  • They are great anchors. If you’re missing a bunch of teeth, getting individual implants to replace them all may not be practical. So, you may get a bridge or even a partial denture. When we place an implant or a few implants to anchor these appliances, they are sturdy, won’t slip, and are very reliable.
  • Placing an implant keeps the adjacent teeth in line. Like people on the bleachers at a stadium when a person heads to the concession stand, teeth also tend to slide over to fill the gap left by a missing tooth or teeth. Implants keep the pressure on the teeth on each side, so they don’t move.

Implants don’t belong on Instagram; they belong in your mouth. Call Dr. Egger at 989-773-3560 and let’s talk about replacing that missing tooth with an implant.