Dental implants are a permanent solution to tooth loss. Read this article if you'd like to learn more about the care taken during their installation.
Whether a patient is looking to replace a cracked or missing tooth or be fitted with a more extensive bridge or even dentures,
at least one implant must be inserted into the jaw to solidify the prosthesis. Doing so may sound simple enough, but it is a process that requires a lot of planning and precision.
Dental implants can work wonders for individuals with cracked or missing teeth, but it can't happen overnight. In fact, the surgery itself is merely part of a longer, more involved process that includes many important steps.
Dental implants are small, titanium cylinders that are manufactured to mimic the appearance of an actual tooth root. They are surgically inserted into the jaw bone where the root is typically found, and because they are nearly identical in size and shape to the actual roots, the surrounding bone actually accepts them as part of the natural structure through a process called osseointegration.
Because these dental implants osseointegrate with the human jaw itself, they are able to fortify themselves and typically boast the same strength of the original roots. This allows them to support crowns that replace individual teeth as well as bridges that take the place of multiple teeth and dentures that replace an entire top or bottom row of the mouth.
This process and these results appear simple and straightforward enough, but in reality, the preparation, execution and safeguarding of the procedure and the implant is actually a very involved process.
In the planning stages, specific areas and structures within the jaw such as nerves and the shape and contours of the target area must be identified and planned for. Radiographs and CT scans are often utilized to examine the area carefully and 3D pictures may also be taken. This is all done to ensure that the implant is able to be accurately placed in a specific area that will optimize its ability to be osseointegrated.
In more difficult cases or those where supremely accurate placement is of vital importance, a surgical stent may be used to ensure this level of correct placement. This stent is fit over the area and includes an indicator of the placement of where pre-drilled holes should be located to eventually house the implant.
Once preparation is complete, the actual procedure involves the meticulous, careful drilling of these holes using either a hand-powered or precision power drill with regulated speeds. The drilling must be done slowly and carefully to prevent too much friction that might burn or compromise the interior structure of the bone itself.
The bone then needs time to heal and integrate with the dental implants before a prosthesis may be attached to it. The amount of time depends on how precise the drilling and placement was, the strength of the surrounding area and other factors unique to each individual patient.
Once in place, dental implants can be long-term solutions that are structurally sound and durable, but this is only possible if they are planned out carefully and executed properly by the dentist.
