What are dental implants?
Dental implants are artificial substitutes for a single or multiple roots of a missing tooth; which are inserted surgically in jaw bones. According to prosthodontics, dental implants can be used as potent anchors supporting the partial or complete restoration of missing tooth or teeth, while according to cosmetic dentistry, they are used to improve overall dental appearance and create a shiny smile.
What are the types of dental implants?
There are 2 main types of dental implants; fibrointegrated and osteointegrated.
Fibrointegrated type is the old trend in dental implants; it is not used anymore. The most famous 2 types are blade and subperiosteal implants.
Osteointegrated dental implants are most popularly used dental implants nowadays; they show great success rates clinically. They are mainly made of titanium which is a precious alloy that can stimulate bone cells to grow on the coarse surface of the inserted implant; thus forming a strong bond between jaw bones and inserted implant. This process is called osteointegration; it is responsible for success or failure of a dental implant.
What are the benefits of dental implants?
Thank GOD that modern dentistry has introduced such a miracle, no more missing teeth dilemma. It is the last choice your dentist are going to offer you when all attempts to save your tooth fail, (like root canal treatment or filling materials), and there is a necessity to extract it. Consequently, an implant will save you suffering problems associated with missing teeth, such as difficulty in chewing food, digestion troubles, elongation of the opposing, midline shift, gingival sores,….etc.
When compared to other dental restorations (crown and bridges, or partial and complete dentures), the dental implant offer a strong and durable solution for supporting restorations of missed teeth, including:
1.Implant supported crown
2.Implant supported bridge
3.Implant supported denture
What are the main procedures for inserting a dental implant?
At first, your dentist must prepare edentulous part of your ridge for inserting the implant. Dental implant consists of two main parts; a screw (which is inserted in jaw bones), plus a crown.
By using a special drill bit, the dentist will mark small pilot holes in decided locations in the upper or lower jaw. Titanium screw will be embedded in these prepared holes, and then it will be completely covered with protective cap to protect it from oral media. It is left to osteointegrate with jaw bones. Finally, after few months, a suitable permanent prosthesis is made to cover the dental implant, either crown, bridge, partial or complete denture.
The most recent trend used in dental implants is to extract the tooth and insert the implant in the socket of extracted tooth at the same visit, the dentist will fix the implant in place with surgical stitches and leave for 6-8 weeks to heal.
Also, mini implants are used widely nowadays.
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