Losing a tooth can substantially impact your quality of life, causing daily tasks such as eating and speaking problems. Although modern restorative dental techniques have significantly reduced the number of teeth extracted each year, many people still have one or more missing natural teeth. Around 70% of Americans aged 35-44 have lost at least one natural tooth. If you are one of them and need a permanent and long-lasting tooth replacement solution, dental implants should be your first choice!
What is the Definition of a Dental Implant?
A dental implant is a surgically implanted device into the jaw bone to replace missing teeth by supporting a prosthesis such as a crown or removable or fixed denture. Following dental implant placement, bone formation occurs around the implant, resulting in a firm anchorage and stability for the artificial tooth.
Dental Implants: How Do They Work?
Dental implants’ success and long-term durability are contingent upon their ability to contact the surrounding jaw bone directly. This process, referred to as osseointegration, guarantees that any prosthesis put over the implant remains held and stable, restoring the artificial tooth to its best-operating state.
Who Should Consider Implantation?
In general, everyone missing one or more natural teeth is a candidate for an implant. However, you should consider receiving an implant if you meet the following criteria:
- You’re looking for a long-term, durable solution to replace your missing natural teeth.
- You wish to rehabilitate your facial appearance by replacing your lost teeth.
- You wish to eat and speak freely.
- You wish to dispense with your inconvenient and unsatisfactory dentures.
Why Are Implants Superior to Other Forms of Dental Prosthesis?
Dental implants are rapidly gaining favor as the most convenient and long-lasting alternative for replacing missing teeth. Consider the following reasons you may prefer them to alternative tooth replacement choices, such as dentures or bridges:
Take Advantage of a Beautiful Smile
A missing tooth can wreak havoc on your smile and facial aesthetics. But, over the implants, an elegant dental prosthesis can be fitted, restoring your lovely smile and charming appearance.
Durability
Dental implants last a lifetime, unlike dentures and dental bridges. If you maintain good oral hygiene and follow your dentist’s guidelines for implant care, you can expect the implants to last a lifetime.
Minimum Preparation Requirement for Teeth
Even when fabricating a single tooth bridge, surrounding teeth must be reduced. On the other hand, dental implants do not require tooth preparation or extraction, retaining the natural tooth structure.
Consume Whatever Food You Please
Individuals who wear removable or fixed dentures must abstain from hard and sticky foods. Unfortunately, they must forego a number of their favourite dishes. After receiving dental implants to replace your missing teeth, you can eat all of your favourite meals without the concern of damaging or dislodging your dentures.
Oral Hygiene Improvements
Maintaining proper cleanliness around dental bridges can be challenging because the brush’s bristles cannot remove food particles beneath them. As a result, additional oral hygiene measures may be necessary to maintain optimal dental health. However, dental implants may be cleaned the same way as natural teeth, unlike dentures and bridges, allowing you to retain optimal oral and physical health.
Comfort
Dental implants, like natural teeth, are placed in the jaw bone. Thus, a dental implant replaces a lost tooth and provides comfort, convenience, and a natural feel like natural teeth.
How Are They Distributed?
Dental implants often placed in phases. Single-step implant implantation methods, on the other hand, are gaining favour. Dental implants placed in the following manner:
Anesthesia Administration
Because implant placement is a surgical operation, your dentist will anaesthetize the area where the implant will be placed to ensure your comfort and pain-free experience during the treatment.
Soft Tissue Reflection
Your dentist will then create an incision through the oral soft tissues, exposing the underlying jaw bone.
Implantation
A hole is bored inside the jaw bone, somewhat narrower than the implant’s actual thickness. After that, the implant is carefully tapped or screwed into place using precise and controlled forces.
Prosthetic Coverage of the Implant
Assume you’re planning a two-step implant implantation operation. In this scenario, a healing abutment is put over the implant, and the surrounding soft tissues are sutured to promote wound healing. Then, after healing has occurred, the healing abutment is removed, and the implant is mounted with a prosthetic. Alternatively, a prosthesis is immediately placed over the implant if quick implant loading is intended.
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