DENTAL IMPLANTS

 
Introduction
Dental implants are permanent tooth root substitutes which, when surgically placed in the jawbone, act as an anchor to stabilize artificial teeth. Implants work so well because the material from the implant biologically bonds with the living bone. Dental implants can be used to replace one missing tooth, several missing teeth, or for patients missing all of their teeth. Prosthetic options include single crowns (caps), bridgework, or an implant retained overdenture.

Diagnosis
Nearly everyone who can have routine dental care can successfully use implants. Many people who consider implants have removable, conventional dentures for lower and upper jaws, or have removable bridges that clasp to adjacent teeth. A permanent bridge supported by 2-4 metal posts in the lower jaw, accompanied by a complete conventional denture for the upper jaw, is a very common use for dental implants for people who wear complete dentures. Dental implants include one or more strategically placed posts, which serve as artificial tooth roots for a permanent bridge of non-removable, stable, natural-appearing replacement teeth, in many cases, when patients have many of their own teeth remaining.

Treatment
When the doctor determines the number, type, and location of the dental implants, the surgical phase of treatment can begin. From the diagnostic information, the prosthodontist determines where the implants should be placed and will most often fabricate a guide for the surgeons from the models of the patient’s mouth. Implants are placed by the periodontist or oral surgeon and the individual teeth or bridgework are restored by a prosthodontist.

Most often, the implants replaced today only require one surgical procedure using a local anesthetic and sedative. However, there are occasions when the implants may require two surgical procedures. This is determined on an individual basis.

Recovery
After the procedure, the gums may be sore during initial healing, usually for seven to ten days. There may be additional soreness in the gums as the bone grows around the titanium posts until they are totally healed. This may take several weeks. If you have worn a bridge or false teeth before the first surgery, you may need to wait seven to ten days before the bridge or false teeth can be adjusted and lined with a soft material to eliminate pressure on the implants.

Following your treatment, routine maintenance, recall evaluations, and X-rays will be necessary to ensure the long life of your restoration. If the screws that hold the fixed bridge in place should break, they can usually be fixed. The implant can last a very long time, but the teeth on the implants require routine maintenance and are subject to wear and tear just as any artificial substitute. (Breakage of the implant parts is rare, but is usually repairable.)

It takes as little as six weeks to as much as three to four months for lower jaw implants to heal completely, and as little as six weeks to as much as six to nine months for those in the upper jaw. The healing time is determined on an individual basis and by the type of implant used. Following adequate healing, the prosthodontist will begin a series of appointments to fabricate the bridges or individual teeth that will be placed onto the titanium posts to replace the missing teeth.