Dental Implants
What are Dental Implants?
- Dental Implants are an alternative to dentures or bridge work for replacing teeth.
- The Dental Implant is made from titanium and is surgically implanted in the jaw bone.
- An implant functions like the root of your missing tooth.
Stages of a Dental Implant
- Sometimes, due to the amount of bone that is removed at the time of tooth extraction, a bone graft may be needed prior to implant placement. It takes, approximately, 6 months for the bone graft to harden in the bone.
- An Implant is placed in bone and covered with a protective cap while it is allowed to heal.
- Approximately 6 months after the Implant is placed, and healing is finished, a restorative abutment is attached to the Implant. This is what the crown will sit on.
- The final step is to cement a crown to the restorative abutment, which is done by your general dentist.
Dental Implants versus Bridges
- Recent research reveals, three unit fixed bridges of all kinds were found to have a success rate of 84% at 60 months, while the single-tooth Implant success rate was determined to be 95.1% at 60 months.
- In 9 different studies, the 15 year success rate of a fixed bridge was found to be about 66%, while a 20 year study of single tooth Implants had a success rate of 91%.
Compendium October 2009- Volume 30, Number 8 www.compendiumlive.com
A good website to visit for additional information is www.missingteeth.org