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About Dental Implants

Our dental implant surgery replaces damaged or missing teeth with state-of-the-art ceramic teeth that look and function much like natural teeth. Traditional bridges and dentures are a duo choice to dental implants, but implants are now the best way to replace teeth. Our patients like implants because they are so similar to natural teeth. After wearing traditional dentures for several years, one of our happy patients said he can “rip through a steak again.”

How dental implant surgery is performed can vary from patient to patient and depends on the type of implant and the thickness, shape and condition of your jawbone. Getting your dental implants may involve several different procedures. The major benefit implants provide is strong support for your new teeth. Implant placement requires time for the bone to heal around the implant, and the process can take up to a few months, depending on your unique case.

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Are Implants Right for You?

Because the titanium implants fuse with your jawbone, the implants will not slip, make noise or cause bone damage the way fixed bridgework or dentures can. The materials cannot decay like your own teeth. But implants are not for everyone. Dental implants might be right for you if you have:

  • One or more missing teeth
  • Bones that are done growing
  • Enough bone to secure the implants. If you do not have enough bone, there are specialized procedures that can be completed in some cases to add bone in areas lacking the proper amount.
  • Healthy oral tissues
  • Enough health to support bone healing around your implants
  • Inability or unwillingness to wear dentures
  • Desire to improve your speech
  • Willingness to commit a few months to the process
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How to Prepare

The planning process can vary a lot from patient to patient, sometimes involving a few specialists. For the majority of our patients, everything can be completed right here in our office. We have a specialist dentist who designs and fits prosthetic teeth (Dr. Mike is a prosthodontist). We sometimes work closely with other specialists, like oral surgeons. We also sometimes work with a dentist specializing in treating structures that support the teeth, such as gums and bones (periodontist). We use a variety of creative procedures to help ensure that each unique patient has the minimal amount of work done to achieve the desired results, and we take pride in our ability to spare our patients from unnecessary invasive procedures and save them money.

Because dental implants require one or more surgical procedures, you will have a thorough evaluation in advance, including the following:

  • Comprehensive dental exam. This includes X-rays, 3D images and potentially digital scans and models made of your teeth and jaws.
  • Review of your medical history. Tell us about any medical conditions and any medications you take, including prescription and over-the-counter drugs and supplements. If you have certain heart conditions or orthopedic implants, we may prescribe antibiotics before surgery to help prevent infection.
  • Treatment plan. This custom plan, unique to you, takes into account factors such as how many teeth you need to have replaced and the condition of your jawbone and remaining teeth.

To control pain, anesthesia options during surgery may include prescription pain medication taken in advance, local anesthesia and nitrous oxide gas for sedation. Talk to Dr. Moffitt about which options are best for you. We will instruct you about eating and drinking before surgery, depending on what type of anesthesia you have. If you are opting for powerful prescription medication and/or sedation, we will tell you to have someone take you home after surgery and expect to rest for the remainder of the day.

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What to Expect

Our dental implant surgery is an outpatient surgery performed in stages with some healing time between procedures. These multiple steps include:

  • Removing damaged teeth
  • Preparing the jawbone, building up the ridge line, or grafting if needed
  • Placing the implants
  • Allowing time for bone to grow and heal
  • Placing the abutments
  • Placement of your new teeth

The entire process can take a few months from start to finish. Most of that time is just letting things heal and waiting for new bone growth in your jaw. Sometimes certain steps can be combined to make things easier, but this depends on your unique situation, the procedures being done and the materials being used.

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Do You Need Bone Build-up?

If your jawbone is not thick enough or is too soft, Dr. Moffitt may need to build up your ridge line or you may need bone grafting prior to getting your implants. Chewing can put over 100 pounds of pressure on your implants, and if the underlying bone cannot support it, the implant will fail. Dr. Moffitt is very skilled at building up the ridge line with bone to help support an implant, but in certain complex cases you may be referred to a specialist for this step of the process. Oftentimes, Dr. Moffitt can build up your bone when your old teeth are extracted or at the same time you have your implant surgery. The condition of your bone will determine what procedures need to be completed.

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Placing Your Implants

During your surgery, Dr. Moffitt will make a cut to open your gum and expose the bone. A hole is drilled into the bone in several stages for a very precise and snug fit where the titanium implant will be placed. The implant is inserted into the bone to provide maximum strength, and in most cases, it will be covered by the gum tissue for a few months until it is fully healed and ready to restore with the prosthetic teeth.

The length of time your surgery takes will depend on several factors, including how many implants you are getting, where they are going, if any bone build-up was needed, how hard your bone is (along with other specifics relating to the shape and condition of your jawbone) and whether there were any complications. However, it usually takes less than an hour.

Even though the implant is placed, you are still missing a tooth. Depending on your unique situation, Dr. Moffitt may place a temporary prosthesis for appearance if needed. This temporary piece may be easily removed while you sleep or for cleaning.

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Placing Your Implants

During your surgery, Dr. Moffitt will make a cut to open your gum and expose the bone. A hole is drilled into the bone in several stages for a very precise and snug fit where the titanium implant will be placed. The implant is inserted into the bone to provide maximum strength, and in most cases, it will be covered by the gum tissue for a few months until it is fully healed and ready to restore with the prosthetic teeth.

The length of time your surgery takes will depend on several factors, including how many implants you are getting, where they are going, if any bone build-up was needed, how hard your bone is (along with other specifics relating to the shape and condition of your jawbone) and whether there were any complications. However, it usually takes less than an hour.

Even though the implant is placed, you are still missing a tooth. Depending on your unique situation, Dr. Moffitt may place a temporary prosthesis for appearance if needed. This temporary piece may be easily removed while you sleep or for cleaning.

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Waiting for Bone Growth

After your titanium implant is placed snugly into your jawbone, the process of osseointegration will begin (“oss-ee-oh-integration”). This is where the bone grows into and unites with the surface of the dental implant. This can take a few months and is essential for a solid foundation for your new prosthetic teeth just like roots do for your natural teeth.

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Choices for Your New Teeth

Gums need time to heal before we take a digital scan of your mouth and remaining teeth. This way everything will fit better in the long run. The digital scan is used to make your prosthetics (your new teeth).

At one point, Dr. Mike Moffitt was the only practicing prosthodontist in North Iowa. Other dentists come here for their own work and refer cases here to us because this is a specialty practice. We have been designing dental prosthetics in Iowa since 1976. Dr. Jordan Moffitt has been trained by Dr. Mike and is skilled at designing and placing dental prosthetics. Over the years, we have examined and tried all different sorts of prosthetics, and we are very opinionated about our favorites. We only work with quality ceramic materials, and our favorite is the zirconia artificial tooth, which is the strongest available.


Watch and see how tough these crowns are compared to other porcelain crowns.

Dr. Moffitt will help you choose what tooth color is best for you and whether your new teeth will be removable, fixed or a combination of both:

  • In this type, we use attachments that snap securely into place with your fingers. This looks similar to a conventional removable denture. It can be a partial or full denture. It contains artificial white teeth surrounded by pink semi-translucent plastic gum. It is mounted on a metal frame that is attached to the implant abutment. You can take it out yourself anytime for cleaning.
  • This type is permanently screwed or cemented onto an individual implant abutment. You cannot remove the tooth for cleaning or during sleep. Most of the time, each crown is attached to its own dental implant. However, because implants are exceptionally strong, more than one tooth can be replaced by one implant if they are bridged together.
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Placing the Abutments

After your bone has had plenty of time to heal and grow into your implants, then it is time to uncover your implants and place the abutments. The abutment is the point where your prosthetic tooth will attach. This is a minor procedure with minimal discomfort.
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To place the abutment:

  • Dr. Moffitt reopens your gum to expose the dental implant
  • The abutment is secured to the implant
  • The gum tissue is then closed around, but not over, the abutment

After the abutment is placed, your gums must heal for about two weeks before the new teeth are attached.

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Aftercare

Many of our patients do not have any complaints at all because there are very few pain receptors inside your bone, but you might have a few discomforts associated with any dental implant surgery, such as swelling in your gums and face, bruising of your skin and gums, pain at the implant site and minor bleeding. Dr. Moffitt might call you the evening of your surgery to make sure you are feeling OK, which is typical in our office where personal care for each patient is important.

You may need pain medications or antibiotics after getting your implants. If any problem gets worse a few days after surgery, contact Dr. Moffitt. After each procedure, you may need to eat soft foods while healing. Dr. Moffitt will remove your stitches as soon as they are ready to be safely removed.

What Makes Us Better?

  1. We are the choice of other dentists. We treat many other dentists, medical doctors, and their families.
  1. Our patients send their friends to us. A substantial part of our business comes from our patients telling their friends and family members about how happy they are with their new smile and their improved ability to chew. These new patients know what to expect with Dr. Moffitt. Look at our Google reviews to see what our patients are saying about us.
  1. We are a prosthodontics office. A prosthodontist has an additional three years of training in making dentures and other dental prosthetics. Working as a team, Dr. Michael Moffitt is a prosthodontist and consults with Dr. Jordan Moffitt on every prosthodontics case. Our dentures are all aligned to improve the bite, to better align the jaw for a more natural bite and a beautiful cosmetic profile, and to better align the height of the teeth for the most beautiful smile you can have. Our dentures help to restore a youthful appearance even with the mouth closed.
  1. We work with the best materials. Our prosthodontics are built to last. We use high-end titanium and zirconia products. Using better materials gives us better results.
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  1. 5. An eye for artistic balance and cosmetics. Around the office, you may see some photographs hanging on the wall that Dr. Moffitt took. Many people mistake them for professional prints, and they are surprised to learn that Dr. Moffitt took them himself. He takes pride in his good sense of balance and beauty. Dr. Moffitt is very fussy for perfection and performs advanced prosthodontics procedures for his patients with a keen eye.
  1. Creative treatment planning to save costs. At Moffitt Dental, we are able to use a wide variety of prosthetic options. We can usually customize a treatment plan to fit your preferences and budget. We recently had a patient who had been shopping around for pricing for four implants and a removable denture, receiving quotes around $16,000. Dr. Moffitt discussed this and determined while our cost for that particular treatment would be higher, there was another prosthetic option available for $12,000. The patient was thrilled to have a simpler but more advanced procedure that saved him $4,000. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution because every patient is different. We have a bigger bag of tricks than most other dentists, so we are able to offer a wider variety of options to our patients.
  1. Creative problem solving to overcome complex dental problems. Some of our patients have been told by other dentists that they cannot be helped. These are some of our favorite cases because we take great pride in our ability to help people when others have said it cannot be done.
  1. Special techniques. Dr. Moffitt completed his training for implant surgery and restoration at the McGarry Implant Institute and has been working under a prosthodontist since 2015. He is one of the few dentists in Iowa trained in the Ögram System™ tooth extraction technique, which results in less tissue trauma, faster recovery and less patient discomfort.

Different Types of Prosthetics

full arch Full Arch Implants

A full arch can be made of permanent bridges (as pictured above) or can be made from a denture that permanently mounts, or a snap-in denture. The different types vary in cost, and sometimes we can place abutments on your natural tooth to reduce the number of implants that you need. You might not have to have all of your teeth pulled! Call us for a consultation to explore your options. (Read about bridges!) Call 515-448-4852 and ask about being qualified for our financing for people with good to fair credit.

implant bridge Multiple Teeth

A bridge is a dental prosthetic device that connects two teeth or two dental implants (as pictured above). Bridges are a very popular option for dental implants. We can even build bridges that can connect one implant to a natural tooth. These can be fully functional and allow you to bite into the foods you love again.Sometimes multiple bridges can be used to help a patient save their good teeth and avoid needing dentures. We always prefer to help a patient avoid traditional dentures.

implant cutaway Single Implant

A single implant is a great-looking alternative to a missing tooth, and its strength means that you will not have to give up being able to chew all of the foods you love. Your dental implant may last the rest of your life and can support other dental prosthetics if your other teeth fail.Call Moffitt Dental at 515-448-4852 for your free exam and consultation for dental implants in Eagle Grove, Iowa!

Paying for Dental Implants

Pay-as-You-Go Payment Plan: Get Started Right Away with as Little as $999* Down for a Single Implant.

"There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all shoe." Everyone is different. Sometimes people get cheap quotes for six implants, but we determine that we can save several of their teeth and give them a much less costly recommendation than corporate dental offices offering cheap procedures. Sometimes we can use parts of a patient's remaining teeth instead of implants to support locators for snap-on dentures. Because of this, sometimes we can save patients more money.

We offer better quality materials and lab work, and we might be the most expensive around, but we also might be less expensive due to our ability to use creative treatment planning such as Conus™ abutments on a healthy natural tooth root that can save our patients money. Prices can include so many different options, but a complete single-tooth dental implant, including the crown, the abutment, the implant itself and all of the surgeries involved, are generally upwards of $5,000 in most dental offices. Insurance will not usually pay for dental implants but may pay for the extractions of your teeth that need to be pulled. Once we know about your jawbone density and thickness, whether or not you are a Conus candidate, and what size and location implants you need, then we can determine the best ways to save money to ensure that the patient gets the best long-term value.

We offer a pay-as-you-go plan, which makes it easier to pay for implants if you do not have all of the cash up front. You can make monthly payments and start with as little as $999 for a single implant. If you have good to fair credit, we also have financing companies available to provide payment plans. Call 515-448-4852 for a free consultation. We will help you apply for credit.


Real Patient Story

The results of my implants are truly life changing. I had two cracked teeth that were quite painful. I went from constant, recurring pain to a permanent solution with implants that are stronger than the original teeth and identical in appearance. I couldn't be happier. Everyone in the office is so helpful, caring, and friendly. From scheduling an appointment to completion of the procedure, you couldn't ask for a better experience. I appreciate Dr. Moffitt's competence and skill, and just as important is that he explains everything so well. --Myron, dental implants


Recommendations from Other Dentists

Dr. Jordan Moffitt is one of the brightest dentists I work with. He is inquisitive, learned and constantly exploring for ways to improve. He has a fine eye for aesthetics, and his work is consistently excellent. He is willing to stand behind his work and make adjustments to ensure that the case is exquisite. Anyone in need of dental work can feel safe and expect superb results if they are dealing with Dr. Moffitt. --R. Bruce Cochrane, DDS, MS

Dr. Jordan Moffitt is one fo the most talented and progressive dentists that I have had the good fortune to work with. He has a very firm understanding of the technicalities of restorative dentistry and how it relates to the surgical care of patients. But most of all, Jordan is just a great person who really cares about his patients. --Lyell R. Hogg, DDS, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon

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