Dental implants and surgery: A dental implant is metal device that is made of metal and is used to implant surgically in jaw to restore the ability to chew or appearance of a person. Dental implant provides support for artificial teeth like crown, bridges and dentures. Whenever any tooth is broken then there might be some complications like loss of bone density where tooth is broken, pain in the jaw etc. The body of dental implant is surgically inserted in jawbone and then implant abutment is attached to body by abutment fixation screw that extends through gums into mouth to support artificial teeth.

Things to consider when being a candidate for a dental implant

Overall oral health is an important factor in determining the suitability of getting a dental implant in your jaw. The healing of implant takes few months during which you typically have temporary abutment in place of tooth.

When is an implant used?

The implant or single tooth variety is available to people who are missing one or more teeth. It is usually availed of by those who have lost teeth and wish for a permanent tooth restoration solution, and that solution must be better than dentures and dental bridges.

The procedure of dental implanting involves the following steps:

Extraction- If your decayed or dead tooth has not been extracted then first it has to be extracted for placement of your dental implant.  Naturally, you can put an implant where there is still a tooth available. Then again, you have the option to save the tooth with endodontic therapy or a root canal treatment.

Preparation: Then, after extraction, the jaw is prepared for surgery. You might require to get bone augmentation through bone graft to give post enough bone or room to anchor itself to jaw. Without enough bone to embed the implant, the implant will fail to stick.

Surgical Insertion of Implant- the Implant is surgically inserted in tooth socket by an opening made into the jawbone. While doing this the gums are cut and a hole is drilled into jawbone to place a stud into the bone.

Healthy Surrounding Teeth: The natural teeth and the supporting tissues near the tooth socket where the implant has to be placed should be in excellent health and should not suffer from gingivitis or periodontitis; otherwise, the dental implant will not succeed.

New Tooth Root- After implant integration has taken place the post becomes integrated with your jaw bone and it serve as tooth root for crown which is placed on atop and plugged into the stud. An abutment is therefore required to support the connection between crown and implant.

The more preferable Crown: The cap or crown is more preferable to the denture or a false set of teeth because it has a natural tooth look and even looks the same as other teeth due to the dental implant anchor. The abutment that connects the crown to the implant also looks like a tooth but is smaller.

Fills in Gaps and Restores Your Bite- If you leave the gap without filling the gap with dental implant then your teeth will gradually move towards the gap to balance your bite that will eventually change your jaw shape as you gets older. The more missing teeth you allow missing the more your facial bones and jaw structure will change with passage of time.

Parts of an Implant

Dental Implant- It is stud or post made of titanium which will be replaced in lower or upper jawbone wherever your missing tooth is used to be right into the socket. This titanium implant gives false teeth or dentures a natural feel when you wear them.

Abutment- This is part of dental implant which is made of porcelain, gold or titanium. It is screwed into the implant and serves as a filler or adapter that connects the crown to the implant. The abutment is main setup on which the implant crown is placed. The abutment is necessarily required because it is harder for crown to loosen the crack under biting as compared to simply slapping the crown into the implant.

Crown-  The crown is that part of a restored tooth that looks like the original natural teeth. It serves as a cap that is put on the implant in order to serve as your replacement tooth. It is made tough and hard, and it is actually replaceable in case it cracks. This crown is made of PFM, a metal alloy fused with porcelain that makes a denture that is tougher than the average tooth. This crown is screwed upon the abutment applied with restorative material to cover the cavities.

Preparatory Precautions

Before going for implant surgery, there are certain steps that you should expect to happen. Preparation for an implant takes longer than a dental implant procedure.

Initial Consultation: It is necessary to undergo a consultation with the prosthodontist before any work is done. A specialist or general dentist with special training in implant dentistry will determine if you are a qualified candidate for implant dentistry or not.

Comprehensive Examination: Your dentist has to take an exam where he will review your dental and medical history. The dentists takes impressions of teeth for creating tooth model along with dental x-rays of your jaw, in the area where tooth is missing.

CT scan of the mouth: There are cases where a CT scan of your mouth is required by dentists to know what work has to be done. It will assist him in determining how much of a jawbone is available for implantation or if a bone graft is needed.

Nerves and sinuses: The CT scan will help dentists locate structures such as sinuses and nerves that are avoided while doing implant surgery.

Bone Grafting

If the dentist finds that there is not enough bone to hold an implant according to x-rays and a CT scan, then the dentist can discuss the bone buildup. In bone grafting, the bone is taken from other parts of your jaw, hip, or chin through a donor or artificial bone material and added to your jaw so that the implant can anchor itself deep into your mouth like a real tooth root.

Learn About Dental Implants Restores Your Missing Tooth