Dental Implants

Many people are confused as to what dental implants are.  This specific dental procedure is not the same as having a fixed bridge made up to replace a missing tooth.  Usually a bridge consists of at least 2 crowns and a pontic placed together, which is then cemented over the existing adjoining teeth.  A dental implant consists of a single post, abutment, and crown to replace a missing tooth.

If your dentist deem your bones and gums in good condition, he/she will then go ahead with the initial stage of the dental implant procedure.  However, if your bones and gums are not viable for implants, the dentist will have to do some reconstructive surgery to help your mouth accept the implant.

The majority of dental implants are done in stages.

1. Titanium post is screwed into the jawbone.  This replaces the root of the tooth.  It needs to heal.

2. Once the gum is healed, the dentist then will open the top portion of the gum to expose the screw and attach an abutment on top of the screw.  There are instances where the post and abutment are placed together at the same time thereby eliminating the step into two stages instead of three.  It generally takes two to four months for the initial stages to heal depending on your case.

3. When the post and abutment are completely healed and integrated, the final step is placing an implant crown on top of the abutment for final restoration.

With proper care and routine visits to the dental office the implants should last for a very long time.  Dentists however cannot guarantee that it will last a lifetime because certain factors do affect your implants such as nutrition, medication, and overall health condition.