Dental Implants and Techniques
What are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are fabricated replacements for dental roots. Dental Implant is normally fabricated from titanium or titanium alloys. The dental implant surface can be covered with other substances to improve its stability and osseointegration. There are many types of dental implants, but the modern ones have tronconic or cylindrical shapes, the same as the original dental root. Crowns or dental works (bridges, prosthesis, etc.) are cooked on dental implants.
Types of implants and techniques
Dental implants come in various sizes, heights, and types. Shanti Dentals implant specialist can help you decide which option is best for you, depending on your particular needs.
There are two main types of implants:
- Endosteal: These dental implants are fixed in the jawbone. Typically built of titanium and shaped like small screws, they are the most generally used type of implant.
- Subperiosteal: These dental implants are located under the gum but on, or above, the jawbone. This type of implant may be done in patients who do not have enough strong natural jawbone and cannot or do not want to, experience a bone augmentation procedure to rebuild it.
If your jawbone is not ready to hold dental implants, various techniques can be applied to reconstruct bone, repair your natural jawline and provide a strong foundation for implant-supported teeth. These include:
- Bone augmentation. This includes replacing or reconstructing bone in your jaw when it is not ready to hold implants otherwise. Study shows that using bone additives and growth factors to support the bone usually achieves the best results.
- Sinus Lift. Also called sinus augmentation or sinus elevation, this involves adding bone below the sinus in cases where the natural bone has deteriorated due to missing upper back teeth.
- Ridge expansion. If your jaw isn’t broad enough to help dental implants, bone grafting material can be added to a small ridge, or space, created along the top of your jaw.
3D Imaging and Treatment Planning
State-of-the-art, highly well-defined 3D digital imaging and implant surgical planning software have made implant methods faster and highly anticipated. Your doctor can use these instruments to examine the shape of your jaw and determine the best sites for implant placement before surgery. This saves time and money and shortens recovery time.
Alternative Dental Implant Techniques
Depending on the strength of your jawbone and your particular needs, your dental implant doctor may advise some alternative treatment options in addition to the usual multi-step dental implant procedure.
Options may include:
- Immediate Load Dental Implants. Also called same day implants, immediate load dental implants provide placement of a substitute tooth during the same appointment as your dental implant placement. This may be a great option if you have sufficient real bone and an implant secure enough to help immediate placement and pressure on the new temporary tooth.
- Mini dental implants (MDIs). Also called small or narrow diameter implants, these toothpick-sized implants are thinner than maximum frequently used dental implants. They are installed through less-invasive procedures and are used originally to stabilize a lower denture.
- All-on-4: All-on-4 is an option for installing a top or bottom set of replacement teeth, called a full arch. Four dental implants are placed in the available bone, bypassing the need for bone grafting. Special abutments are used so that a substitute set of replacement teeth can be fixed the same day. You follow a varied food while the gum tissues heal and the implants bond with your natural bone. After about six months, the permanent replacement teeth will be placed and you can continue a regular diet.