Dental Implants
The routine use of dental implants has revolutionized Prosthodontics and the way missing teeth are replaced. Dental implants have become the standard of care for the replacement of teeth because dental implants allow a missing tooth (or teeth) to be restored to optimum function and appearance without invading or damaging any other teeth or tissues.
When teeth cannot or should not be saved, or after they’ve been lost, dental implants can be used to permanently replace them. Implants are titanium root replacements that are placed into the jaw to act to act as supports for the new teeth or caps. Implants can also be used to support or stabilize dentures.
In the past a patient missing a single tooth would often receive a fixed bridge where both teeth on either side of the space were prepared for crowns and a false tooth was suspended between them. Today’s technology allows the patient to be ideally treated by a crown supported by a dental implant, avoiding any compromise to the other teeth. Dental implants are the ultimate solution for young people with congenitally missing teeth such as lateral incisors. |
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Dental implants can also replace multiple missing teeth which are traditionally replaced by a removable partial denture, making a removable partial denture obsolete. In some cases if there are too many teeth missing to use a fixed bridge, using dental implants with an attachment that snaps into the removable partial denture will significantly improve its stability and improve the patient’s chewing function.
Perhaps the best known use of dental implants is treating patients without any teeth. Denture wearers often suffer due to loose and “floating” dentures. The stability of the dentures is improved with the use of at least two dental implants with attachments, but greater satisfaction is achieved as the number of dental implants is increased. Depending on the number of dental implants used to replace the teeth, a denture that clips onto a bar supported by the dental implants can made be or a fixed bridge that remains in the mouth can be attached to the dental implants. Dental implants also can help preserve the patient’s jaw bone and retard the shrinking of the jaw that is routinely seen in long-term denture wearers. |
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