Dental Implants
Your tooth is made up of two parts , the root which is embedded in your jawbone and the crown which is the part of the tooth you can see. When a tooth is missing or removed, the bone that previously surrounded the tooth root begins to resorb or deteriorate.
Dental implants are basically substitute tooth roots that function similar to natural tooth roots, stimulating bone growth and providing a strong foundation for replacement teeth.
Why Dental Implants?
Dental implants have become the preferred method of tooth replacement for several important reasons:
- No other treatment option prevents the bone resorption/deterioration that occurs when a tooth is lost or removed.
- This is the only tooth replacement option that preserves the adjacent teeth, as opposed to cutting them down to place a bridge or hooking a partial denture to them.
- Dental implants have by far the best long-term success rates of any treatment option – and this has been documented in the scientific literature for over four decades.
- Since dental implants are designed to last a lifetime, there is rarely a need for additional treatment. With other forms of tooth replacement that need to be replaced every 5 to 10 years, additional dentistry is almost always necessary in the future. As a result, dental implant treatment is the most cost-effective option long-term.
Replacing Multiple teeth
Versatility of Dental implants allows their use in replacing a single tooth, multiple teeth or all of the teeth. The Dallas Fort Worth metroplex patients may require additional procedures to obtain the optimal esthetic and functional outcome.
A surgical and prosthetic evaluation and consultation with one of our doctors at Penn Dental and Implant Center will determine whether you are a candidate for dental implant treatment and whether additional procedures, such as bone grafting will be necessary.
Benefits of Dental Implants
There are several treatment options for replacing missing teeth, however dental implants present numerous unique benefits for patients:
Because dental implants are designed to last a lifetime, they have a better long-term success rate than any other tooth replacement option. Documented clinical research demonstrates that dental implants have a success rate of over 95%, which is significantly higher that tooth-supported bridges and partial or full dentures.
Bone resorption, or deterioration, is one of the most serious consequences of missing teeth. By replacing the root of your tooth with a dental implant, your jawbone and smile retain their shape. If you are missing all of your teeth, replacing them with implant-supported replacement teeth will preserve the integrity of your facial structures and prevent the shrinkage of your jaws and the appearance of a collapsed face.
Tooth-supported clasps for partial dentures can damage your teeth over time and tooth supported bridges are more susceptible to recurrent dental caries. With dental implants, it is not necessary to cut down the adjacent teeth in order to place a bridge, which compromises the long-term health of the teeth, or hook a partial denture onto natural teeth, which can cause them to loosen to the point where they have to be removed.
Evaluation for Dental Implants
Quality and quantity of available bone.
Number of dental implants needed to create the optimal result.
Other procedures that may be necessary to prepare the surgical site.
Process
Penn Dental and Implant Center utilizes innovative technology, such as 3D cone beam imaging to obtain the most accurate, detailed view of your teeth, bone and facial structures for the most precise diagnosis and treatment planning available. In addition , we utilize X-Guide 3D technology to perform navigated surgery which research and studies show to be 10 times more accurate than free hand surgery.
Once your doctor has developed your ideal treatment plan and determined whether you need additional procedures to obtain the optimal end result, you’ll be ready to schedule your surgical procedures.
If the tooth to be replaced has not yet been removed, your first surgical procedure will be to remove the tooth. If you do not have sufficient bone for a dental implant, you will need bone grafting to add bone to the site where the implant will be placed. In certain cases, the tooth removal and bone graft can be completed at the same time as the implant placement. In other cases, the implant will be placed several weeks after the surgical removal of the tooth and bone graft.
Implant Placement
Your doctor will administer anesthesia to prevent any sensation during surgery. Utilizing a gentle technique, your doctor will prepare the surgical site and place the dental implant in the proper position. A small cover screw will then be attached to the implant. A temporary replacement tooth (or set of teeth) may be inserted following surgery. The implant will be left undisturbed for a several weeks to a few months, to allow the bone to remodel around the implant.