A dental implant replaces a missing tooth from the root up: a titanium post set in the jaw, topped with a crown made to match the teeth around it. Dr. Ben Areheart handles implant cases here in our Rock Hill office, and you'll know the plan and the numbers before anything gets scheduled.
Prefer to talk? Call (803) 328-3886.
The right setup depends on how many teeth are missing and where. These are the three configurations we talk through most often at implant consults.
One post, one custom crown, and the teeth on either side stay untouched. That's the big advantage over a traditional bridge, which needs its healthy neighbors trimmed down to hold it. Worth comparing with a dental bridge before you decide.
Two or more implants can carry a bridge across a wider gap, so you don't need a separate post for every missing tooth. It stays fixed in place, and you care for it much like natural teeth.
Implants can anchor a full denture so it stops shifting when you eat or talk. If you already wear one and you're tired of how it moves, this is usually the fix. There's more on our dentures page.
You're in good company, and you don't have to white-knuckle it. We offer IV sedation in our own office, which is rare for a general practice around here, so you can relax through the placement visit.
It starts with a consult. Dr. Areheart examines the site, takes imaging, and tells you plainly whether an implant makes sense for you. Sometimes it doesn't, and you deserve to hear that too. If a failing tooth still has to come out first, we handle the extraction in the same chair.
Placement itself is a shorter appointment than most people expect. The post goes in under local anesthetic, then the site heals for a few months while the bone fuses to the titanium. Dentists call that osseointegration, and it's the reason an implant feels solid in a way nothing removable ever quite does.
Once it's fused, your final crown is attached and that's it. From then on you look after it like any other tooth, including regular cleanings with our hygiene team.
Implant dentistry is trained work, and Dr. Areheart came by his training the long way. After dental school at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2011, he served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force, where his advanced residency included implant and sedation dentistry. He's been the dentist at Piedmont Dental since 2014.
Away from the chair he's a dad of three with a fondness for hunting and an unapologetic falsetto when the radio's on. In reviews, patients land on the same word again and again: gentle.
Most people who get an implant here were already patients. We're a family dentist office at heart, so the team that cleans your teeth is the same one looking after your implant for years to come.
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“I'm not one for dental work. But Piedmont Dental has helped me in many ways. Everyone there is very nice and sincere people, who treat you like a person instead of just the patient.”
“Kim does a really good job in cleaning my teeth. Courtney is very good in assisting Dr. Areheart, who is a really good dentist. The front desk staff are always courteous and very pleasant.”
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The answer is a range, and here is what moves it. Cost depends on how many teeth you're replacing, what goes on top of the post (a single crown is a smaller project than a full-arch denture), whether the site needs grafting before placement, and whether there's an extraction to do first.
What we can promise: Dr. Areheart looks first, then you get the plan and the pricing in writing before you decide anything. The recommendation will always match what your teeth need.
We file almost all insurances, as long as your plan allows out of network providers. Implant coverage varies a lot from plan to plan, so our front desk will help with your specific situation before you commit to anything.
Less than people expect. Placement is done under local anesthetic, and most patients tell us it was easier than having the tooth pulled. If nerves are the bigger obstacle, IV sedation lets you relax through the visit.
Usually a few months from placement to final crown, because the bone needs time to fuse to the post. Most of that is simply healing at home while life goes on, and there are temporary options if the missing tooth shows when you smile.
Usually not, but bone matters. The jaw shrinks where a tooth has been missing a long time, so some patients need grafting before an implant can go in. Imaging at your consult shows exactly where you stand.
The post itself can last decades, often the rest of your life, with normal home care and regular cleanings. The crown on top takes the chewing wear, so it may need replacing somewhere down the road, same as any crown.
Some plans cover part of it and some don't, and the fine print varies more for implants than almost anything else. Call and the front desk will take it from there. They deal with these plans every day and will find out what yours covers before you commit.
Call and tell us what happened. One tooth or a whole arch, the first step is the same consult, and you'll leave it knowing your options and what each one would take.
Call (803) 328-3886