People lose their natural teeth for various causes, including dental decay, infection, injury, and more. If patients lose a tooth or have to have it removed, it is widespread for them to be a bit conscious of their smiles. Fortunately, there are various remedies, such as dental implants.
Although several alternatives exist, restorative dentistry is one of the best to replace a lost tooth and restore a smile. The implant will not only sustain a patient’s dental health for many years to come, but it will also appear precisely like the other natural teeth. This is the procedure’s largest advantage. For additional information, continue reading.
What are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are designed to resemble natural teeth, as their name implies. Most of them are made of titanium to provide long-lasting performance and durability.
Like how your natural tooth would firmly establish its root system under the gum line, the implant fastens to your jaw. This makes the implant feel more realistic than any other dental implant since this post will eventually fuse to your jaw.
What Advantages Do Dental Implants Offer?
Dental implants are widely regarded as the best dental replacement option currently available for a variety of reasons, including the following:
Natural
The fact that dental implants appear and feel more natural than any other substitute is their main advantage. They are made to fuse to your jawbone and function similarly to natural teeth.
Prevents bone loss
Your teeth serve as a jaw’s anchor and promote bone health. However, if they fall out, your jawbone can shrink. People who wear dentures may eventually need new ones as their jaws change in size and density over time. This may also impact face form and appearance.
Simple maintenance
Maintaining dentures might be a hassle. Dentures need periodic cleaning, which might take much time since they allow food particles and other impurities to squeak into gaps.
Stability
A bridge or a denture may be able to fill up the gap left by a lost tooth, but it cannot support the teeth next to it. As time passes, this might result in teeth shifting to the vacant area and realigning themselves.
Long-lasting
Implants may easily last a lifetime, even if they could be more costly than other dental restorations. There is no need to go back to the dentist for maintenance or replacement of implants once they are placed apart from your regular dental appointment unless they have been damaged.
Strong
Dental implants are strong, of course. Implants are far more durable than alternative replacements that are susceptible to cracking and breaking since the pressure is applied to the bone rather than the actual tooth replacement.
What Are Dental Implants’ Drawbacks?
Dental implants can have certain drawbacks, even though they may be quite advantageous. A few of them are:
Cost
The cost of dental implants might differ significantly from that of other types of repair. However, their prices are reasonable, given that they often last longer.
Lengthy Procedure
They may not be the best option for someone who wants a more immediate fix for their tooth issue since the process can take several months to complete.
Additional Steps
A bone transplant treatment can be necessary if you don’t have enough bone to sustain your implant. A portion of bone must be implanted in the jaw to increase density, which may need additional healing time before the implant can be placed.
Infections
Any surgical operation has the risk of these. Because of this, it’s crucial to ensure that you’re working with a reputable dentist’s office that provides top-notch care.
How Is Dental Implant Surgery Performed?
In the ideal scenario, a tooth that cannot be restored can be pulled, and an implant can be placed immediately. However, since getting dental implants requires many surgeries, and you might also need to recover from one before going with the next, patients generally anticipate that the process will take up to a year.
The procedures you might anticipate going through during your dental implant surgery are as follows:
Dental exam
Your restorative dentistry must examine you before implanting. CT scan-based 3D imaging has improved dental implants from their early days. The dentist can better analyse your oral health, particularly the bone supporting the implant, without two-dimensional X-rays.
Tooth or teeth extraction
The replacement tooth, or maybe teeth, are extracted in the following step. Although certain dentists who specialise in implantology can complete the whole procedure, oral surgeons are often the ones who do this.
Grafted bone
Your dentist may then need to conduct bone grafting, in which bone is taken from another part of your body and placed where it is required if the first examination reveals that you don’t have enough bone to support the implant. Additionally, there are choices for natural and synthetic donor bones.
Implant insertion
After healing, the dentist will then drill into your jawbone and inserts the implant. If your bone transplant is modest, these two operations may be done together. The implant must be fixed deeply within the bone as a tooth root. After osseointegration, you’ll have to temporarily wear a removable denture in order to fill the gap left by your missing tooth.
Abutment Insertion
The implant portion, which is the abutment that will keep the crown in its place, is inserted, and the area of the gum is closed ans secured around it after two to three months when enough bone has grown in to stabilise. It will now take the gum 4-6 weeks to recover.
Inserting a crown
The crown is affixed in the last phase. Your height is made to match your other teeth’ style, size, and colour. After the abutment is in position, this is accomplished by creating moulds or digital imprints of your natural teeth and jaw.
Dental implants provide many advantages that may keep your oral health for years despite costing more than your regular replacement. Dental implants are, without a doubt, the best option for restoration since they provide a natural appearance and feel precisely like the real thing.
Patients opting for Richter Dental implants benefit from improved speech, easier eating, and enhanced comfort compared to traditional dentures. These implants also help in maintaining facial structure and preventing bone loss.