What is dental implant and what should we know about the benefits of this procedure?

Dental implant is a surgical process of replacing a tooth or teeth in the jaw bone. Dental implant is a great choice if you have a missing tooth or teeth that have impacted your smile.

Today our appearance can enhance our self-acceptance and self-confidence. By having a missing tooth, our facial expressions is also restricted. Maybe we feel embarrassed to smile and we have to avoid smiling because of our lost teeth.

What is dental implant?

Dental implant is a surgical process involves our jaw bone and the manufactured appliances that are applied in the bone and act as our natural teeth. Dental implant has a long-term success similar to our own teeth. If we have a tooth or root that functionally is not appropriate, dentists may resort to tooth extraction. Generally we could say that the implant replacement is performed in three ways:

• Delayed or late implant replacement: it is performed 12 to 16 weeks or in late ones more than 16 weeks after the extraction procedure
• Early implant replacement: it is performed 8 weeks after the extraction
• Immediate implant replacement: it is done at the same time following the extraction

 Tips to know before the dental implant:

• Our jaw bone should have enough spacing for the procedure and thin jawbone causes some problems. In this case, bone expansion or bone grafting will be done
• The level of tissue is examined along with adjacent teeth and nearby teeth
• Choosing the kind of material for better natural results
• Analysis of the condition of gum like the architecture, color and contour should be regarded

Challenges of dental implant

There are some challenges ahead of implant procedures that should be considered in order to have an improved dental implant result.

For example, in extraction procedure great care is needed for the dentist in the kinds of instruments, techniques and even in time management. As bone and soft tissue tend to change quickly, implant needs a lot of accurate placement techniques.

Bone anatomy analysis is crucial for extraction procedures and then ridge (where the teeth joint) examination is needed. Since bad implant position can damage the adjacent teeth and problems like receding gum and restorative space, the treatment should be accurate in every aspect.

Technology can be very helpful by virtually planning the implant placement to achieve better results.

If there is a defect in palatal bone where the implant must be done, regenerative grafting to stop the bone from changing its model is necessary.

There are some risks when immediate implant procedure is done, like gum and bone thinness, necessary augmentation of hard and soft tissues and disharmony in the implant position.

Problems and risks of dental implant

In the implant replacement, there are some problems that might cause discomfort for the patients. Considering the good results later, this is worth it. Some of these problems can be:

• Bleeding disorders
• Having some allergies which are temporary
• Damages to the area of the procedure
• poor positioning can affect the nerves in the gums and adjacent teeth
• Gingival recession because of incorrect way of positioning the implant
• Infections

How is dental implant done?

After healing time in the extraction stage, we need to use something as root for our future tooth or teeth. Placing titanium post (a screw-like object) in the jawbone acts as the root for our tooth.

 After that, abutment, which is a metal part for connection between the root and upper part (crown), is installed. Finally, we need our crown, which acts as our natural tooth, to have a complete function of a tooth. The crown is custom made and it fits to the root.

Is dental implant painful?

The pain is similar to pulling a tooth. Bear in mind that the desensitizing agents are used in dental implant. For this reason, this procedure is pain-free and some over-the-counter painkillers after the operation can be helpful. You don’t need to be worried about that.

The top benefits of dental implant?

We have already discussed variety of topics around dental implants. The benefits stand out as the most important factors in esthetics or beauty of any individual’s appearance. Some of these outstanding benefits are as follow:

• Prevention of facial aging and by dental implants you make your appearance look younger. With missing teeth, your balance of the jaw and mouth tend to be affected and shrinking lower parts of face is nothing you want to have.
• By dental implant, you also keep the other teeth to be stable and future problems like loose and fragile teeth will be prevented.
• Dental implant is effective in keeping the health of gum and preventing gum diseases.
• You can enjoy the long-term results of dental implant. It has been proved to have higher successful rates compared to dentures and bridgeworks.

There are even more advantages of dental implants and we mentioned just some of them.

The cost of dental implant

The prices of dental implant vary from different regions. Information about the cost can change, for example, whether insurance covers that procedure or not.

 When we think of the great advantages of dental implant, the desire to consider this treatment for the health of our teeth and mouth becomes bigger.

 Dentists or other dental team members in charge of the treatment plan can give us the planning treatment costs. The prices of implant procedure vary depending on the amount of work and the restorative materials.

Patients deserve to achieve greater possible outcome of their dental implant considering their budget.