About Dental Implants

What is the meaning of dental implant?

A dental implant is manmade replacement in place of the natural teeth which enables a person to have fixed teeth. Dental implants are different from transplants taken from others. What category of dental transplant is suitable for a patient depends on the individual need and condition of the teeth. An x-ray is required to check the number of bones remaining; space available in the mouth .The dentist does a examination before finalizing which type of implant should be done.

Who are the candidates for dental implant?

People who are missing teeth may it be one or all are candidates for an implant. If a person is missing 1 or few teeth then dental implants along with a crown /bridge can be used to replace the missing teeth and these manmade teeth function as good as natural teeth and there is no further loss of bones and decay .If a person is missing all teeth then implant is used to anchor loose denture. In some cases when bones are lost; bones can be regenerated with the technique of bone expansion which further helps in implants.

Are Implants Safe? How Long will they last?

Implants are a well-established, tried-and-tested treatment. 90 per cent of modern implants last for at least 15 years.

How much time is required?

Dental implant is a advance procedure hence it takes time of say 4-9 months or even more depending upon the individual case. The dentist does provide temporary teeth during this period and the patient is never without teeth

I have some of my own teeth. Can I still have Implants?

Yes. You can have any number of teeth replaced with implants – from one single tooth to a complete set.

Can Implants always be used to replace missing teeth?

It depends on the state of the bone in your jaw. Your dentist will arrange for a number of special tests to assess the amount of bone still there. If there is not enough, or if it isn’t healthy enough, it may not be possible to place implants without grafting bone into the area first.

Is the treatment painful?

Placing the implants requires a small operation. This can be carried out under local anaesthetic with sedation or with a general anaesthetic. There is a little discomfort at the time of the procedure but patient sedation and anesthesia are used to reduce the discomfort. Most of the patients experience pain for 2-3 days after the implant/surgery. This is usually due to having stitches in place, and the normal healing process.

Dentists also give medicines to reduce the pain and avoid any type of discomfort.

Can I have the new teeth straight away?

No. The implants need to bond (integrate) with the bone after they have been placed. This takes at least 3 months in the lower jaw and 6 months in the upper jaw. If you are having one, two or three teeth replaced, you will have a temporary restoration in the meantime. If you have complete dentures, then you can wear them throughout the healing period once they have been adjusted after the surgery.

How long does treatment take?

It takes about 12 months from the initial assessment to the time when the artificial teeth or dentures are finally attached to the implants. However, if only the lower jaw is involved then it may only take around 5 months.

A lot depends on how complicated your treatment is. Your dentist will be able to give you a timetable once the surgery has been done.

Are the teeth difficult to clean?

Cleaning around the teeth attached to the implants is no more difficult than cleaning natural teeth. However, there may be areas that give you problems and you’ll be shown methods to help.

If I has Gum Disease when I had my own teeth, will I get it with the teeth attached to the Implants?

Yes, if you don’t care for them well enough. If you keep them clean, and don’t smoke, then you should not have any problems.

Can I take the teeth out if they are fixed to Implants?

Most artificial teeth attached to implants can only be placed and removed by the dentist. However, if you have complete dentures fixed to the implants by bars, then you’ll be able to take them out for cleaning.

Do the Implants show?

Your dentist will make sure that the implants won’t show during all normal movements of the mouth and lips. You will need to be able to see them, so that you can clean them properly.

Do I have an Implant for each Missing Tooth?

No, unless you’re only having a single tooth replaced. Normally, five or six implants are used to replace all the teeth in one jaw, as each implant can usually support two teeth. For a few missing teeth, two or three implants may be used.

What if I get hit in the face?

Implants and the teeth they support can be damaged by an accident in the same way that natural teeth can. However, if the false teeth are damaged and the remnants are left in the bone then they may be more difficult to remove than natural teeth would be. After healing, new false teeth can then be placed alongside the fragments.

Are there any chances of rejection?

The body can reject soft tissue transplants i.e. kidney, lung, heart transplant but there is no rejection to dental implant by the body. There are chances of failure because of factors such as lack of focus on implant/some other condition, misalignment or diseases the patient suffers from. Dental implants use titanium material that is bio compatible i.e. it is compatible with the tissues of the body. Titanium is widely used now days to replace parts of the body.

Is the treatment expensive?

Unfortunately, yes. However, in many situations, the cost of the treatment is only a little more than the cost of more conventional treatment with crowns and bridges.

There are advantages to it, too. An implant to replace a single tooth avoids the need to cut down the teeth either side for crowns to support a bridge. Normal dentures often mean you can’t eat or speak well, due to the dentures moving about. But teeth attached to an implant don’t cause this problem.

What side effects one has to face without a dental implant?

When a person looses teeth the bones of the teeth also become weak and after some time these bones disappear other problems emerge such as:-

The adjacent teeth become week and there is no support for partials, dentures and bridges. These further results in pain, mobile tissues of the gum, sore spots, painful ridges, lack of retention etc.

The tongue also enlarges as it accommodates the space of missing teeth.

The diet changes and one has to survive on soft food.

Bone loss results in numbness of lower lips and there are chances of jaw fracture.

Bone loss makes the adjacent bones weak which causes falling of nearby teeth.

Hence one should start the treatment at an early stage because the problem becomes more severe if the treatment is delayed.