What are Dental Implants
Dental implants are utilized to replace missing teeth. They can be used to replace a single tooth, several teeth or even all of the patients missing teeth. The type of dental implants used almost exclusively today are called root form implants, and are made from surgical grade titanium. This type of implant has been in clinically use for over 30 years, and has shown to have long term success rates in the range of 95-98% which gives them one of the highest overall success rates for any replacement therapy in dentistry or medicine.
Teeth are made out of two parts – the crown and the root. When the tooth is lost, both the crown and the root are missing. The dental implant is not a complete tooth replacement, it only replaces the missing root. An addition portion must be added to the implant to actually restore the visible and functional part of the tooth or teeth. This means there are two different but related treatments involved when replacing teeth with implants. The surgical treatment to place the implant and restorative treatment to add the teeth. The dental implants have changed the way we treat our patients, by choosing the dental implants you will receive the best that dental treatment has to offer.
Risks with Dental Implants
Although the success rate for dental implants is extremely high, like with any surgical and dental
procedure, there are potential risks. Each body reacts differently to these implants, but in general any surgery will have swelling, bruising and pain. Painkillers and antibiotics can be prescribed to the patient for adequate treatment.
Other things that needs to be considered is implant failure. This situation is extremely rare, but the human body sometimes rejects the implants. Implants bond to the bone, through a process of osseointegration, it’s a biological bond, and if that bond doesn’t take place that means the implant has to be removed.