Dental Implants

A fabulous way in which you can replace any missing teeth are dental implants which also provide a fixed solution as opposed to having removable partial or complete dentures. Dental implants will provide you with excellent support and stability for these dental appliances. Usually made out of titanium, dental implants are actually artificial roots and teeth surgically placed into the upper or lower jaw bone by a Periodontist who specializes on the gums and the supporting jaw bone. The teeth attached to implants are very natural looking and often enhance or restore a patient’s smile! Dental implants are very reliable, strong, stable, and durable and will last for many years. But on occasion, they will have to be re-tightened or replaced due to normal wear.

Reasons To Have Dental Implants

  • To replace one or more missing teeth without affecting the adjacent teeth.
  • To resolve any joint pain or bite problems that you may experience which are caused by teeth shifting into the space of the missing tooth.
  • To restore the patient’s ability for chewing, talking and digestion.
  • They can actually restore a patient’s confident smile.
  • They can also restore or enhance facial tissues.
  • Dental implants will help to support a bridge or denture, making them more secure and comfortable
  • The process of getting dental implants made and put into place requires a number of visits over several months.
  • First we take some X-rays and impressions, or molds of the jaw and teeth to determine bone, gum tissue and spacing available for the implant. The implant will be surgically placed into the bone while the area is numb and allowed to heal and integrate itself onto the bone for up to six months. A second surgery may be required in order to place the “post” that will hold the artificial tooth firmly in its place depending on your type of implant. The post and anchor are already attached and placed at the same time with other types of implants.
  • The artificial teeth are made and fitted to the post portion of the anchor after a few weeks of healing. The fact that several fittings might be required, this step can take up to two or three months to complete. The artificial teeth will be securely attached to the implant, providing excellent stability and comfort for the patient after a healing period.
  • Dental implants can replace any missing teeth that have long been replaced conventionally with fixed bridges or dentures. There has been a trend towards replacing missing teeth with dental implants more recently because they are a more comfortable and permanent solution. Dental implants placed and restored by an experienced dentist, will be virtually indistinguishable from your other teeth and will look and feel like your own natural teeth.
  • Among the reasons for tooth loss include neglecting your teeth and gums with a poor diet and poor oral hygiene, aging naturally and also due to trauma. Athletes such as football players, rugby players and boxers often loose teeth due to trauma.
  • Besides bite problems and difficulties in eating, any teeth loss can have a significant impact on a person’s self-esteem and confidence due to the aesthetic implications.

Dental implants are actually replacements of the root portion of a tooth. Usually consist of a threaded titanium screw or post, dental implants are surgically placed right into the jaw bone.

Generally, implants are used to support either a single crown or a bridge. In cases where there are too many missing teeth and no supporting teeth for bridges or loose dentures,more solid dental implants is probably the only choice for replacing these missing teeth. A highly-skilled implantologist would be required to carry out a full mouth reconstruction using dental implants.

Among the most popularly heard complaints about dentures is that they are not stable enough to allow normal eating habits and biting into an apple would be unheard of! Dentures can also cause irritation of the gums and soreness from the movement. With dental implants, patients have the confidence and comfort of being able to eat whatever they want whenever they want because dentures are strongly secured into place.

A huge advantage of getting dental implants is that they do not require preparation or drilling of neighboring healthy teeth unlike bridges. They do not require any type of special brushes or extra care for good oral hygiene. After some time when teeth are lost, bone loss of the jaw occurs. Dental implants slow this process down and prevent excessive loss of the bone structure. There are many different types of dental implants and various implant systems used by different dentists these days. There is no evidence to prove that a brand of implant supersedes the others. Just as a painter might prefer a certain brand of paint, some dentists prefer to use one implant brand over another. As the patient, what is more important to you is that your experience of having the dentist placing the implants gently and painlessly. Constantly ask about your dentist’s credentials before consenting to have any implant work carried out. It might help for you to know how many implants that dentist has placed before.

Modern day dental implants have very high success rates and are one of the most successful ways to replace any missing teeth. The skill of the dentist who does the work will actually determine how long they will last. A number of factors include how well you look after the health of your teeth and gums. Surrounding bone grows into the microscopic surface of the implant making it more secure when implants are placed into your jaw. This process is called Osseointegrationwhich has duration of approximately 6 months. Dental implants cannot fail to anchor and provide solid support for false teeth if they are positioned carefully by an experienced dentist. If a patient experiences a high level of bone loss around the implant or if the tissue around the implant becomes infected, implants may fail. Poor oral hygiene can significantly result in an infection of the tissue around the implant itself. Smoking can negatively affect healing as it tends to slow the process quite a bit making smokers significantly prone to implant failure due to the side effects of smoking.

It would be advisable to give up smoking prior to getting your dental implants because smoking has a negative impact on the health of your gums.Implants generally have a 90-95% five-year success rate. Patients who look after their oral health and hygiene with regular visits and checkups to the dentist can successfully have the same implants for up to 25 years.

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