Dental Implant
What is a dental implant?
The dental implant is the most advanced therapy for replacing a missing tooth. Implant teeth look, feel and behave exactly like natural teeth.
The dental implant is a common surgical procedure in a dental clinic, performed by introducing a new tooth in the form of a titanium post on the jaw bone. The dental implant is placed after the extraction wound has healed or immediately after extraction, by performing a relatively simple surgical procedure. After the time needed for bone integration, another metal part called blunt brace is attached to the implant. Above this the surgeon can place the ceramic inlay, bridge or denture that will replace the missing tooth or teeth.
Am I a good candidate for a dental implant?
In order to benefit from a dental implant you need to be healthy and have one or more missing teeth. For the implant to be inserted you need enough healthy jaw bone. If you don’t have enough bone, there are several procedures of insertion and fixation we can perform in order to facilitate enough bone support.
Dental implant or bridge?
Both treatments replace one or more missing teeth.
Advantages of bridges:
Quick treatment
Any dentist can perform it
Over-all lower cost
Advantages of dental implant:
Doesn’t require filing the neighboring teeth
Increased comfort
Longer life expectancy
Stops bone reduction, due to the missing tooth
Nice look
Natural teeth sensation
Mastication comparable to natural teeth
Bone stimulation of 95%
Complete stability of the inserted work
You don’t hurt your gums during mastication
Nice to wear and easy to clean
Precautions when inserting a dental implant
Disadvantages
– The time needed for adjustment to a dental implant is between four and six weeks.
– The healing time is between three and six months, period within which the dental implant is found in the gum. A temporary prosthesis could be made and used during this time.
– Then there is the prosthesis period (dental crown or dental prosthesis), which could last from a few weeks to a few months.
– As any other artificial replacement in the human body, there are no promises and no guarantees for the life expectancy of dental implants or on any other works on implants.
Necessary Medical Investigations
In order to be able to start the dental implant procedure the patient needs to undergo a medical exam, including the following blood tests:
