A dental implant is a root replacement for missing teeth. The implant is screwed into the jaw to hold in a place a bridge, a crown or false teeth (dentures). They were discovered in Sweden about five decades ago and are typically made of titanium.
Titanium is the choice material for implants because of its ability to easily bond with bone, it does not corrode, is very strong and does not cause an adverse reaction in the body that leads to rejection of the implant. The bonding of the titanium with bone is referred to as osseointegration. Previously, implants were made of other materials like sapphire. There are current studies that are looking at using zirconia, which is a ceramic-metal, in the making of dental implants mainly because it looks more like a real tooth than titanium.
The titanium used for a dental implant is commercial grade titanium and is in five different forms, depending on its composition.
Most Common Types Of Dental Implants
There are different types of dental implants. They are categorized according to the design. The most common type of implant is the root form endosseous implant. It is also called a root form endosteal implant. It is popular because it is the implant that most closely resembles natural teeth. This type of implant looks like a screw and is placed in the bone.
Another type of implant is the plate or blade form implant. It is commonly used when there is not enough bone, maybe because the jaw is too narrow, to place a root form implant. This implant is rectangular and like the root form, is placed in the bone.
Subperiosteal implants are also used but in cases where there is not enough bone depth or width perhaps due to bone loss to use either a root form or a plate form implant. This type of implant is placed on the jaw bone, under the gums.
Other types of less commonly used implants are intramucosal implants, Ramus-frame implants and transosseous implants.
The type of implant to be used will be determined by the dentist who will carry out an evaluation.
The dentist will most likely be using implants from different dental implant companies but he should be able to recommend the appropriate implant to suit your needs.
Dental implant prosthodontics technique is performed with the application of modern dental technology, through which artificial teeth look and function like natural.
Dental Implant Structure
The main part of this dental implant structure is the implant, which is a titanium “root”, which is attached to the jaw bone, is a reliable base for a crown.
The material of which dental implants are made provides necessary flexibility and rigidity. The service life of dental implants largely depends on how the patient takes care of the cleanliness of his mouth.
Dental Implant Surgery Procedure
The procedure of dental implant surgery lasts about an hour. For a successful procedure of implantation, it is necessary to make a panoramic X-ray image before its beginning, where your dentist can see the amount of bony tissue needed for the dental implant surgery.
On the basis of this X-ray image, the dentist plans where and how much dental implants he would put. After the dental implant procedure, he makes an X-ray image to confirm surgery success.
Panoramic X-ray image is necessary for successful dental implantation procedure.
Dental implant surgery procedure begins with local anesthesia. Location of installation of the implant is anesthetized to make the patient feel comfortable and feel no pain.
Next, the dentist makes the incision of the mucosa and expose the bone where the dental implant will be placed.
Then, using a special set of drills increasing in size, the dentist prepares a well for the installation of the implant. With the use of a special tool dentist install dental implant into the jawbone.
After a successful dental implant surgery procedure, the patient should wait 3-6 months – this is the time required for invasion of the bone structure into the implant and the implant’s fixing in the bone.
After this period the dentist makes the disclosure of the implant and screws the abutment – a structure made for the dental crown of the dental implant.
The scheme of implant prosthesis is the following: dental implant – abutment – a crown on the implant.
After a successful dental implant surgery and prosthesis, one should come once a year to the dentist for preventive examination of the implant’s status.