What are Dental Implants ?

Dental implant offer a unique opportunity to restore the patient dental health. It allows the patient to have functional and aesthetics tooth; similar to natural tooth. It also helps to reduce risk of gastric and intestinal problems from insufficient chewing. Besides the social stigmas associated with an imperfect smile, missing teeth can also cause gastric and intestinal problems as well by not allowing food to be chewed sufficiently.

A dental implant consists of three parts: the implant screw, the post or abutment, and the crown. We’ll take a look at how these three components can restore your smile, as well as solve any digestion problems.

Dental Implant

The implant serves as a sturdy base on which to affix the post or abutment, and finally, the crown that will restore your missing teeth. This implant is usually made of titanium. An incision is made into the gum, and a hole is drilled into the jawbone to place the implant screw.

A bone graft may have to be performed if there is insufficient bone, or if the bone has deteriorated due to infection causing the loss of the original tooth.

Once the hole is drilled into the jaw, the titanium implant is then inserted into the bone, and the incision is sewn up. The area is left to heal. During the healing process, a denture can be worn over the incision after a day or two when any pain has subsided. The healing process allows the gums to heal over the implant and provide enough stability to support the upcoming abutment and crown.

Abutment

After the area of the implant has fully healed, another incision is made, and the abutment is screwed or cemented into the middle of the implant. The abutment is also made of titanium.

After this procedure, the area is left to heal for a few days. The abutment will lie just underneath or slightly protruding from the gum. A temporary crown can be attached to the abutment, or the denture can be used over it during the healing process.

Porcelain Crown

The final part of a dental implant is affixing a porcelain crown to the abutment. The dentist may make an impression of your surrounding teeth and create the porcelain crown to fit the impression while you’re healing from steps one and two.

If the tooth you’re having implanted is one of your front teeth, the dentist will match the color of the crown as closely as possible to your natural teeth to give you a uniform smile. The porcelain crown is cemented onto the abutment to complete the implant procedure.

Undergoing the Entire Procedure

Undergoing the entire implant procedure may take some time, anywhere from three to six months for the initial implant to merge with the bone. The final two steps can be completed in a week to ten days.

Sufficient healing time has to be left between each step of the procedure. If your dentist determines that you have to undergo a bone graft before an implant is possible, it can take even longer.

If you’re considering having an implant procedure performed, make an appointment at the Vejthani Hospital Dentalis and Dental Implant Center to have a consultation with a specialists, implantology dentist.