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Implants
About Dental Implants
Missing teeth need to be replaced to restore appearance, speech, masticatory function and self confidence. Implants offer a fixed replacement of missing teeth. The implant system consists of the titanium implant that is surgically placed in the jawbone and serves as an artificial tooth root, the abutment and the crown. They are strong, durable and the restoration is natural in appearance.
Once in place implants can even last for a lifetime and only the restoration work(crowns, bridges) has to be replaced every 15 years if needed.
Reasons why teeth can be lost
Ageing
Decay
Neglected oral hygiene
Gum disease
Facial trauma
Disadvantages of missing teeth
If there are missing teeth in the mouth, we have gaps and the remaining ones will slowly drift into these spaces and also tilt. The opposing tooth will also drift towards the empty space because the biting forces change and the mastication looses its cleaning function at the site. This consequently leads to problems with the jaw joint, decay of the teeth, worsening of existing gum disease and malnutrition.
The bone tissue will begin to shrink at the site of the missing tooth because there is no more stimuli for the bone to maintain its amount. If this goes on to a certain extent than even the appearance of the face will change and look older.
Neglected or missing teeth are sometimes associated with ageing, it has been observed that they give an older appearance to the face.
Missing teeth can even change the shape of your face. As a consequence of bone face muscles change their position and this gives the face a tired appearance.
Reasons to have implant
To replace one or more teeth
To provide support for a partial denture
To increase the support and stability of full dentures
To increase confidence while smiling talking eating and improve esthetic appearance
To improve oral and general health
To prevent the long term effects of missing teeth such as decay of the remaining teeth and possible worsening of gum disease
Preserves bone structure, prevents bone and gum shrinkage
Advantages of implants
Strong, durable, natural solution for permanent tooth restoration
They are indistinguishable from own teeth
They serve as a support for bridges and adjacent teeth do not have to be crowned
Can be used with dentures to improve their stability
Reasons for implant failure
Implant failure is very rare, it happens about 1-5% of the cases. It means the implant becomes loose and it has to be removed. It is usually due to heavy smoking, poor uncontrolled chronic disease, such as diabetes. In these cases the healing processes of the tissues are disturbed. Osseointegration is one of these processes and implant failure can be avoided if the patient quits smoking and diabetes and other diseases are kept under control.
If the implant is not positioned properly they cannot withstand chewing forces properly and they can become loose as well. To avoid this problem our dentists use 3dimensional implant planning based on CT scans. This way implants are placed exactly in the proper angle and position.
Implant surgery
The first titanium implants were placed in 1965, since that time the procedure has developed a lot.
Before the operation your dentist will carry out a full mouth examination, panoramic X-ray and CT scan to assess the thickness of jawbone, suitability for implant surgery and exclude unsuitable patients. Only those patients are unsuitable who are not willing to attend regular check ups, have very poor general or oral health or have no motivation. In general, candidates for dental implants either need to have sufficient bone amount and density or require bone grafting during or before the procedure.
An implant system consists of the titanium screw, an abutment to connect it with the third part, the crown. During the operation the gum is cut open, a hole is drilled in the jaw bone, the implant is placed into this hole, and the gum tissue above it is stiched back together. During the healing period, which is about 2 months in most cases, osseointegration takes place and the bone fuses with the implant. This means that the implant becomes structurally integrated with the jawbone without rejection or inflammation. This is essential, if it does not happen, the implant will fail.
After the healing period the implant becomes firmly embedded in the bone tissue and the top of the implant is uncovered by incising the healed gum above it, and the artificial abutment is screwed into the implants. Abutments provide a good fit for the crowns, bridges, or bars for clipping on a removable overdenture.
After the operation
Your dentist will prescribe pain medications and antibiotics and gives you detailed information about meticulous oral hygiene you have to maintain after the operation.
As with every operation there is a small chance that complications occur, these are:
Excessive bleeding
Unexpected reaction to medication
Infection
Temporarily feeling sick as a result of anaesthesia, sedation
Swelling, discomfort around the operation site.
If you follow the instructions of the dentist and take take good care your implants these problems can be easily overcome.
After completion of the dental work
Implants require as much care as natural teeth and no more. It is important that you attend regular checkups, maitain good oral hygiene and do regular brushing and flossing.
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