Dental implants
1. What is a dental implant?
A dental implant is a titanium root used to replace lost teeth.
- Dental implants allow us to restore masticatory functions and aesthetics, so that we have the same sensation with these new “teeth” as if they were our own natural ones.
- A dental implant is a crown (or bridge) subjection system performing the lost tooth’s function.
2. Implant placement in patients with lack of bone
It is necessary to have sufficient bone in our jaw so that an implant can successfully integrate and occasionally, it is required to perform a bone graft with bio conductive materials, in order to ensure a successful implant integration.
3. Types of dental implants
There are different types of implants to solve clinical cases with different characteristics.
Dental implants with immediate loading, solves two problems at once: provides an immediate placement of a dental implant (24h) for aesthetic reasons, while on the other hand, offers us with an excellent solution for tests and observation of the implant integration.
Unitary dental implants, presents us with an aesthetic solution (replaces the absence of a lost tooth, thus restoring the naturalness of your smile), as well as a functional solution (not allowing the displacement of the rest of the teeth). This type of implants replaces a single lost dental tooth.
Full arch implants, represent the best choice if we need to replace the entire dental arch due to poor conditions of patient´s teeth. It is important to mention that we will not replace, with an implant, each tooth. The objective of this technique is to work with a minimum number of implants to support the entire arch.
4. Frequently asked questions about dental implants
Urgent solution presented by dental implants: As mentioned in the section above, there are dental implants on which we can perform immediate loading, and which will replace the absence of our teeth, while it lasts the process of observation and development of the definitive crown.
Duration of the dental implant: There are many factors that can influence the lifespan of an implant, but with a routine care by a professional and subsequent treatment, we can enjoy them for many years and often a lifetime.
Healing and maintenance of a dental implant: In order to keep dental implants clean and strongly fixed, the same care must be taken as if they were one of our own natural teeth. In other words, brushing our teeth after each meal and a routine dental visit twice a year is strongly advised.
5. Dental implants with immediate loading
Before placing permanent teeth on dental implants, approximately two months has to pass so to ensure a successfully osteointegration.
For the patient´s convenience, there is a technique called “Immediate loading (teeth in one day)” which allows on the same day, the extraction of teeth in poor condition and the placement of implants and provisional fixed crowns.
The immediate loading clearly has functional and aesthetic advantages during the bone integration process, which is necessary before placing the definitive fixed prosthesis.
t is necessary, in order for a successful immediate loading, that the patient´s anatomy provides sufficient bone and in full arch cases, a proper implant distribution.