Versatile And Long-Lasting Approach For Tooth Replacement and Denture Support
If you’ve never been a dental implant patient before, the concept and process can be confusing and foreign as implants are not what most people think of as day-to-day dentistry. However, implants quickly became the gold standard for tooth replacement after being introduced to dentistry in the early 1980s due to how versatile and predictable they are.
Dental implants are made of titanium, one of the most bio-compatible materials on the market, which means even if you have a metal allergy you are still likely to be an excellent candidate for implants. The implant is designed to function as the root of a tooth, meaning it is placed entirely in the jaw bone, just as your tooth’s natural root is. The top portion of the implant can be a single tooth, a part of a bridge helping to replace multiple teeth, or a component designed to improve a denture or partial denture.
Implants now are the gold standard in tooth replacement for a variety of great reasons:
No detriment to neighboring teeth:
Traditionally, if missing a tooth, the dentist would make a bridge. To fabricate a bridge, the neighboring tooth on either side of the space needs to be ground down to allow for a 3-unit bridge (3 crowns fused together that rest on the two teeth).
If the surrounding teeth did not need crowns then this process removes a major portion of healthy tooth unnecessarily. Bridges set those teeth up for difficulties in the future, such as need for a root canal, development of cavities in hard to fix areas (you can’t floss between the teeth when fused together), and fracture (we’re asking two teeth to do the work of three, and the supporting teeth have been whittled down).
Can look and function like natural teeth:
Individual implants mimic a natural tooth better than any other option in dentistry. And unlike bridges, partials, or dentures, the strength of implant biting is often stronger than a natural tooth.
Designed to be a long-term fix:
Although bridges have been successfully used in dentistry for hundreds of years, they generally shorten the lifespan of the teeth that support them and often need to be replaced multiple times over the years. Implants as we know them were introduced in the early 1980s, which means that our current research is only about 35 years old at this point. Over the last three decades implants have changed and improved greatly to be very predictable restorations. Because they are attached to a human body nothing can be guaranteed, but we anticipate implants that are well maintained will last many decades, and hopefully for life.
Prevent bone loss and tooth movement:
Without stimulation, our bone atrophies and shrinks away. When a tooth is removed, the bone that used to support that tooth will resorb over time, creating defects or dents, changes in face shape, and collapse of the cheeks and lips to make the patient appear older than they are.
When implants are placed, the forces from chewing are transmitted through the restoration into the bone. These forces stimulate the bone so that it maintains density and volume to support the implant, just as the bone surrounding natural teeth does. Also, our teeth prefer to have partners: if a tooth is removed, the opposing tooth will often grow out of the bone because there is no contact. Teeth will also tip or move forward into areas were teeth are missing which can alter and disrupt proper biting.
Frequently asked questions
Who is a candidate?
May of our patients report they’d been told by other dentists that they are not candidates for dental implants. These days, it’s fairly rare to be a patient who cannot have implants. One limiting factor is loss of bone that will support the implant, but with advances in technology and understanding we can now do bone grafting as a routine aspect of tooth replacement.
How long does it take?
The answer varies depending on the patient’s individual scenario. We can provide a more qualified answer during the initial consultation. Bone healing takes roughly 3-6 months depending on a number of factors: age, gender, size of tooth, if infection was present, health history, etc.
From the day an implant is placed to the day a tooth can be attached is usually around 4 months. There are plenty of instances where a tooth or arch full of teeth is attached to implants the very same day the implants are placed. For individual teeth this is more common in the anterior portion of the mouth where the biting forces are weaker and it is safer for the implant. If a tooth needs to be extracted prior to implant placement, that bone often needs to heal for 3-4 months before it is strong enough to support an implant. In these cases, the full timeline in many patients who need a tooth extracted is 8-10 months. Again, this varies greatly depending on the scenario. CT scans, intraoral exams, and bite assessments allow us to develop a timeline specific to each patient during their consultation.
Do Implants hurt?
For any patient who has not had an implant before, pain is usually heavy on their mind. Fear not! It’s truly a daily experience for us to hear how easy the process was or how shocked someone is with the lack of discomfort and swelling.
Bone itself has very little feeling. Gums have feeling, but discomfort in these areas is very easily controlled with mild medication. The same often holds true for implant surgeries, especially when they are CT guided which is the preferred method at Atlanta Dental Spa.
When able to work in a small space, the discomfort is essentially limited to the tiny area of gums around where the new implant is, which is very easy to manage.
With the help of IV sedation to make your visit a stress-free experience, we are able to give medication that help make the first 48 hours extra easy. The best part is your body produces that medication naturally, so no one is allergic to it and it’s very safe! We strive to make every procedure as comfortable as possible.