What is Dental Implants?

Dental implants are metal posts or frames that are surgically positioned into the jawbone beneath your gums. Once in place, they allow your dentist to mount replacement teeth onto them.

The process of fusion between the dental implant and jawbone is called “osseointegration.” Most dental implants are made of titanium, which allows them to integrate with bone without being recognized as a foreign object in our body. Over time, technology and science have progressed to greatly improve the outcomes of dental implant placement.

Dental implants are the closest you can get to healthy, natural teeth. They allow you to live the way you want to – confidently eating, smiling, laughing, talking, kissing and enjoying all of your everyday activities without worrying about your teeth.

Types of Dental Implants

Endosteal Implants

Endosteal implants are dental implants that are drilled right into your jawbone. A post is connected to the endosteal implant after the gum tissue has healed.The bone area must be sufficient to support the implants in height, width, and length. Then an artificial tooth, or crown, is added to the post. In some cases, a bridge or denture is added to the endosteal implant.

Subperiosteal Implants

A subperiosteal implant is placed onto the bone rather than into the bone, similar to a saddle. This type of implant is used most often to cover a large surface area, such as a completely edentulous mandible where there has been a severe amount of bone resorption and not enough bone to support endosteal implants. Although most of the implant structure is under the gum tissue, posts or bars remain exposed above the gums.

Zygomatic Implants

Zygomatic implants are different from conventional dental implants in that they anchor in to the zygomatic bone rather than the maxilla. They may be used when maxillary bone quality or quantity is inadequate for the placement of regular dental implants. Inadequate maxillary bone volume may be due to bone resorption as well as to pneumatization of the maxillary sinus or a combination of both. The minimal bone height for a standard implant placement in the posterior region of the upper jaw should be about 10 mm to ensure acceptable implant survival.

Single Tooth Implant

Replacing a missing or failing tooth with a single-tooth implant has great benefits over the alternative options of a bridge or denture In most cases, the treatment is very quick is virtually pain-free, and the recovery is normally simple and straightforward. Most patients report less discomfort after an implant is placed than following an extraction by their dentist.

Multiple Tooth Implants

This refers to the use of multiple standard implants for those individuals that are missing multiple teeth. This procedure can vary widely depending on how many missing teeth a patient has. All on 4, all on 6, and implant supported dentures are all forms of multiple tooth restoration. When replacing multiple teeth, less implants are typically used to support many teeth. For example, to replace the entire top row of a patient’s teeth, 4 or 6 implants may be enough to support them all. Similarly, three missing teeth can be supported by two implants. The dental implants cost is typically higher when it comes to replacing multiple teeth, but is definitely the most beneficial and valuable option.

All-On-4

All-On-4 is used as an alternative for placing a full set of top or bottom replacement teeth.

Four dental implants are placed in the available bone, this does away with the need of bone grafting. A temporary set of replacement teeth can be placed the same day.

The downside is you will have to follow a special diet while the tissue is still healing and the implants bond with the bone.

After a short 6 months, a permanent set of replacement teeth are placed and you can finally resume your normal diet.

Temporary Bridgework

This procedure uses very small micro implants and bridges placed on top while the permanent implants are healing. Once the permanent implants are healed, the micro-implants and bridges are removed to finish the procedure with the permanent implants. Temporary bridge work helps to ensure that the patient has perfect smile and a functioning mouth.

Fixed and Removable Bridges

Similar to implant supported dentures, this process refers to the use of implants used to support bridgework. The bridges are detachable from the implants, and unlike bridges without the use of implants, bridges supported by implants won’t cause bone loss and weak teeth. Though the dental implants cost for this process would be less than the permanent dental implants procedure, it’s not significant.

Anchorage (Orthodontics)

This refers to the use of implants in orthodontics to help tooth movement to achieve the results of braces quicker than usual. Because implants are literally meshed into the jaw bone, they create a strong and stable anchor to allow teeth to shift faster and more smoothly. Based on the condition of your mouth, standard, permanent dental implants may not be the best option for you, and that’s okay because there are other options available as well.