What are dental implants?

If you are missing one more teeth, dental implants can be used to replace the teeth and restore your smile to a beautiful, functioning state. A dental implant at Capital Dental Design is a titanium post that is surgically placed into your jawbone by either an oral surgeon or a periodontist. After a significant amount of healing time, your dentist will restore the implant with a fake tooth.

Dental implants are considered one of the more stable and healthy options when it comes to restoring missing teeth. Without tooth roots in the jawbone to help stimulate bone regeneration, the jawbone actually begins to deteriorate. Dental implants integrate into the jawbone and act as a tooth root to help stimulate new bone growth. The integration with the jawbone as what provides such great stability with dental implants.

Other restorative options such as a bridge or partial denture are functionally and aesthetically sufficient but they do not support bone structure and when your jawbone begins to deteriorate, the shape of your face can change and affect the way your bridge or denture fits. If you do have multiple missing teeth, a dental implant can be used to support a dental bridge. This is a great way to get the best of both worlds, the stability of an implant and the ease of replacing multiple teeth with one appliance.

On its own, a dental bridge is a less costly option for replacing multiple teeth but an implant supported bridge will probably last longer, making it the financially efficient choice in the long run. A traditional bridge also has to rely on neighboring healthy teeth which are affected by the bridge placement because they have to be prepared to receive a dental crown in order to support the bridge.

Am I a candidate for dental implants?

Unfortunately, not everyone is in a candidate for dental implants. Implant placement does require minor but invasive surgery so the patient needs to be healthy and able to endure the six months of healing time. Six months may sound extreme but the implant has to integrate with the jawbone before the implant crown can be placed and used.

Your dentist will send you to an oral surgeon or periodontist to see if you are able to have an implant placed. If you are otherwise healthy but do not have enough bone structure, your doctor may recommend that you have a bone graft first.

If it is determined that you are healthy enough to receive an implant, your doctor will determine which type is best for your individual keys. One is an Endosteal implant which is more common for patients who are replacing one tooth. Your dentist will then use an abutment to attach the implant crown to the implant using either a screw or cement.

The second option is a subperiosteal implant which uses a metal frame that is set onto the jawbone with the implant posts protruding from the gum. Your dentist is then able to set your implant crowns onto the posts.

Subperiosteal implants are great for replacing multiple teeth in one area.

Implants do tend to be the more costly option for restoring teeth but they are overall the better option. Your implant crown may need to be replaced every 10 years or so but the implant itself can easily last a lifetime with proper care and maintenance making them worth the cost and effort.

More on Dental Implants : Dental Implant Procedure