If your tooth get damaged or you have congenitally missing teeth, in both the cases, a missing a tooth or several teeth not only spoil the aesthetics but also impair the normal functioning of the dental structure. Therefore, teeth replacement is an important aspect of dentistry. The conventional method to replace missing teeth is denture. Complete or partial denture is a removable dental appliance but due to inconvenience and many other issues, it is not very much preferred by people. Dental bridge is another method to replace lost teeth but the main disadvantage of dental bridge is that it needs the support of other teeth. Thus, dental implants have become the primary choice among dentists and patients to replace damaged or missing teeth.
What is Dental Implant?
Dental implant is a screw shaped contraption which acts as an artificial root for supporting the artificial crown. The dental implant holds the crown in position just like a natural tooth root. The dental implant is placed in the jaw bone. It fuses with the bone by a process called Osseointegration. Therefore, it is as good as a natural root for supporting the artificial tooth. Patients can require either single dental implant to support a single tooth or multiple dental implants for supporting multiple teeth.
Dental implants are commonly made of Titanium metal. Titanium is a non-toxic biocompatible metal due to its resistance to corrosion, and capacity for osseointegration.. Titanium is also light in weight and does not exhibit magnetic properties.
What Are The Different Types of Dental Implants?
There are four types of dental implants.
Endosseous implants- Endosseous implants are placed in the jaw bone of the patients. Such an implant fuses with the jaw bone and becomes a part of the structure. The main requirement for endosseous implants is sufficient depth and width of the jaw bone. It is considered the most common type of dental implant.
Transosteal implants- Transosteal implants are either pin shaped or U shaped metal implants which reach the oral cavity after passing through the jaw bone and the gums.
Subperiosteal implants- Subperiosteal dental implants are metal frames which are fixed on top of the bone even though they remain below the alveolar level. This type of implant is used when the patient does not have sufficiently deep jaw bone.
Mini implants- Mini implants are smaller in size than conventional dental implants with a diameter of less than 3 mm. They are used to support pre-molars, front teeth and small sized teeth. Teeth in narrow areas of the oral cavity and the areas with low bone tissue density are also replaced using mini implants.
The Procedure
The surgery to place dental implant in the jawbone is carried out under local anesthetic. If the damaged tooth is present at the site, extraction is done. If sufficient jaw bone is not present to support the implant, the dental surgeon uses alveolar bone graft or on lay bone graft to provide enough bone support to the implant. In case of placing implant in maxillary posterior region, sinus lift is done if the amount of bone is reduced due to maxillary sinus. In this procedure, the floor of maxillary sinus is lifted and bone graft is added.
The dental implants need to be placed in the jaw bone. For this, the gum is cut and folded back to expose the jaw bone. Thereafter, the jaw bone is drilled and the implant is placed in it. A healing cap is used to covers the top of the implant. Afterwards, the jaw is stitched up. The implant becomes osseointegrated with the bone within 3-9 months.
Finally, abutment is fixed to the implant by a screw. The abutment serves to support the artificial crown. The artificial crown is made according to the impression taken of the abutment. The crown is fixed to the abutment using a cement or screw.
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