DENTAL IMPLANTS

General Information

Give data on the number of teeth missing in the U.S.
Dental implants are titanium rods that are placed into the jaw bone to replace missing teeth.
They are highly successful in many different situations with success rates averaging between 90 and 98%.
Dental Implants are increasingly becoming the treatment of choice in many situations to replace missing teeth.

Potentially, implants are a permanent solution to missing teeth. Although there is a small failure rate, implants have the potential to last forever. No matter how good the fit of a fixed bridge, the bridge will always have to be replaced. The average life-span of a fixed bridge ranges from 8 to 12 years.
Implants offer more conservation of tooth structure. More, and more, as oral hygiene has improved, many teeth adjacent to empty spaces have never had a restoration. Bridgework requires that the teeth on either side of an empty space be shaved down so that a crown can fit over the top of it. If the tooth has had no restoration or a very conservative one, this is a rather radical solution to replace a missing tooth. Implants allow that the teeth on either side of the empty space be left alone.

Implants vs. Complete Dentures

Over million Americans are without teeth. Up until the last two decades, these people were doomed to wearing complete dentures. Complete dentures can be uncomfortable and hard to keep in the mouth. Furthermore, they cover large areas of the oral cavity containing many taste buds thus making eating less enjoyable and food less tasty.
Dental implants allow anchors for dentures to "snap" on to. In some senarios, these dentures can only be taken out by your dentist. In other situations, the dentures can be removed by the patient but only with some effort.
Furthermore, since the implants offer greater stability, the dentures can be made with less material thus leaving such structures as the hard palate open increasing the taste of food.
Finally, once teeth are gone, the jaw bone will continue to erode away over time. After a number of years, the patient can be left with an alarmingly thin ridge. The ridge may be so thin that the patient cannot wear a denture and may be succeptible to jaw fracture. Dental implants have been shown to, like teeth, "hold the bone" so that this erosion over time does not take place.

An Overview of the Implant Surgery

The implant is placed into a surgically created site within the bone. This is also sometimes done at the time of tooth extraction and termed an "immediate" implant. Generally, but not always, the implant is then covered with the gingival tissue and allowed to heal from 2 to 7 months depending on the type of bone.
After the implant has successfully fused to the bone, the tissue is pushed off of the implant, and a piece that extends from the implant to the oral cavity is placed. The procedure is generally known as "uncovering" the implant. The structure that was placed molds the tissue so that a crown can later be made. This tissue is allowed to mature for about a month.
From here, an abutment that forms the support for the crown is placed on the implant body and torqued into place.
You are now ready to begin impressions for your new tooth.