A dental implant does more than just give you a chance to have your tooth back; it has changed the entire complexion of the conversation about tooth loss. Previously when you lost teeth, you had the option of choosing either wires and cement or the adhesive that would bond your dentures in place. Today there is a more sophisticated option that not only replaces your visible tooth structure, also known as the crown but replaces the root as well. Dental implants are the most secure and stable way to replace lost teeth.
As a new technology, people have a lot of questions about getting a dental implant. For example, patients want to know how long dental implants last, what the procedures are for placing them, and whether or not they are eligible to get them. As far as the last question goes, there are really no reasons why a person would not be eligible for dental implants, provided their body, and specifically their mouth, are healthy enough for the surgery and for sustaining and supporting the implant as long as it lasts. It is important to remember, from an eligibility standpoint, that dental implants are placed directly into your jawbone by an oral surgeon or a periodontist.
This involves surgery, and you need to be healthy enough for this surgery. Some of the things that may automatically preclude you from getting dental implants include: untreated or out of control periodontal disease, diabetes that has not be treated, cancer that requires ongoing radiation treatments, smoking, and alcoholism. Each of these may restrict your body's ability to bond with the implants or its ability to heal, which drastically increases the probability that the implants will not work.
Dental implants have a very high rate of success, with some studies placing the success rate as high as 98%. This is partly because we take a great deal of care in ensuring that you are ready for a dental implant, sometimes deviating from the standard process to ensure that your jawbone can handle the implant. The journey to getting a dental implant or dental implants starts with a comprehensive examination. This examination will include X-rays and CT scans that give us a complete picture of the condition of your mouth and the density of your jawbone. Dental imaging will also tell us if there are any additional procedures that may be needed to shore up the jawbone. One of the most common procedures that we have to do is known as an alveolar bone graft. With this, we will place a cadaver or synthetic bone to ensure that the jawbone has enough density to withstand and support the implant. Sometimes we may also do a procedure known as an onlay bone graft. This is typically done when there is no tooth and there is insufficient bone available to successfully perform the implant placement. These surgeries take time to recover from, so you will be healing for around six months before the next phase of the implant process. For a few lucky patients, the damaged or missing tooth can immediately be replaced during the same appointment, which is known as an immediate implant placement.
