Mini dental implants: pros and cons, uses and cost

Filling out missing teeth with dental implant is the most popular, durable and stable procedure for replacing your lost teeth, but persons who don’t have enough density in their jawbones to support dental implants sometimes should undergo other procedures like bone grafting (bone making) to get a conventional dental implant.

Therefore, their cost will increase and they may give up on having a dental implant. Mini dental implants are suitable if you don’t have enough jaw bone density and bone quality to get the traditional dental implants.

Uses of mini dental implant

Dentists use mini dental implants mostly for replacing smaller sized teeth and in areas where there is less bite force. Because too much bite force and heavy pressures may decrease the stability of the mini dental implants, dentists will choose whether mini dental implants are a good choice or not depending on your tooth site and your bone condition.

Mini dental implants are used in the following ways:

• Where jaw bone is weak and there is a lack of bone mass in your gums
• To replace your lost teeth in the lower and upper front teeth(incisor teeth)
• To replace small areas of your missing tooth with not enough interdental space, which regular implants may cause damages to the root of other teeth
• To hold and retain your dentures firmly in place for the elderly who want a comfortable and well-fit denture type
• In implant-supported dentures, where regular implants can’t be used due to bone loss
• As anchorage in orthodontics to retain braces and other fixed appliances

Pros and cons of mini dental implant

Pros

• less cost
• less pain and discomfort
• less invasive surgery and faster healing time
• no need for bone grafting, which reduces your cost
• no surgical risks like risks to the root canal and sinus during procedure
• no need for difficult surgeries in implant preparation, insertion and post-operative time, which makes it a quick, time-saving and an affordable implant

cons

• lower rate of stability
• not used in load-bearing areas, where there are too much force as in back teeth
• not used for those who have parafunctional activities like bruxism or have the habit of grinding their teeth

Mini dental implants vs traditionnel implants

Traditional regular implants last longer and are used widely to treat tooth loss around the world. Traditional implants serve you a lifetime of stability. But the increased costs of regular dental implants and the difficulties in surgeries, which takes your time with healing and gives you more discomfort can make mini dental implants a favorite choice.

Mini dental implants are smaller-sized implant with less than 10 mm in length and are available in less than 3 mm diameter. So, we have a narrower dental implant inserted in our gums. Traditional implant size should be 12 to 16 mm in length, and this length is the ideal implant size for higher success rates and preventing failure of your dental implant in the future.

But there are situations that you are not able to get normal sized implants to replace your missing teeth. Having receding bones with weaker bone quality, which is an obstacle for a standard dental implant, your dentist may provide other alternatives and mini dental implant is one great option. Your implant length depends on the bone density and the site of your implant where there may be high or low amount of biting force.

Cost of mini dental implants

Mini dental implants can cost you between $500 and $1500 per each implant. Traditional dental implant cost will reach to $3000 and more to $6000 in most cases depending on the surgeries and preparation necessary. So, by a quick comparison with regular dental implants, you will know that mini dental implants are cheaper implants.

Mini-implants in orthodontics

The use of mini-implants in orthodontics has revolutionized orthodontic treatment. This type of mini-implants has square head shape, which is used in orthodontics for fixing appliances in place. Mini-implants are used as anchorage to pull your teeth or jaws into the normal shaped position. Orthodontists will use mini-implants for anchoring your braces and other appliances in your mouth.

This is a great and faster way to achieve a beautiful and a perfect look for your teeth when you are trying orthodontics. Orthodontists can treat complex bite problems like over bite, under bite and other extreme deformities with the help of mini-implant anchorage systems. They insert mini-implants to the bony part in your mouth like roof top of your mouth (palate) or bones below your upper lip between the root of your natural teeth.