Dental Implants

Getting a dental implant is like getting younger. Sadly you have lost a tooth to disease or trauma. The good news is that you can get your tooth back.

A dental implant is a man-made root, made of titanium (the same as in artificial joints so the patient does not have to be worried about being allergic to it. And, no, you will not set off the metal detectors at the airport). This titanium root is cone shaped and has threads on it like a screw. It is placed into the bone underneath the gums. The procedure is not necessarily painful- about like having a tooth extraction. The healing, as well, is not painful but there is a waiting period from three to six months to wait for the bone to grow and grab on to the implant. The implant in this manner becomes very very strong. Because the implant is artificial you can never get decay on the implant. You can have problems similar to gum disease so you have to keep it clean. Overall the success rate of implants is very high: about 97% success rate in the lower jaw and about 95% success rate in the upper jaw. The difference is due to the different types of bone in these areas.

There are many treatment options with implants. They can be used to replace a single tooth making a traditional three-part fixed bridge with crowns on each side of the gap, unnecessary. Why alter these.