How Dental Implants Work ?
A dental implant is a metallic rod that is surgically placed in the jaw bone as a support to hold an artificial tooth. Once the tooth is affixed to the implant, it looks and works like a natural tooth. A dental implant can last for as long as 10 to 20 years without needing replacement. |
For those, who have just been told by their dentists that they need dental implants, it is best to know How Dental Implants Work ? and what you can expect in the future.
Dental implants have to be surgically implanted by a dental surgeon. However, not all people can get dental implants. Only people with healthy gums and having sufficient bone mass in the jaw can get dental implants. In case, the gums are healthy, but the bone mass is insufficient, the patient would have to go through another procedure to increase the volume and mass of the bone. This procedure is known as bone grafting.
There are primarily two types of dental implants, endosteal dental implants and subperiosteal dental implants. The most common type of dental implant to be used is the endosteal implants where a small cylinder-shaped screw is surgically placed into the jaw bone, and then the patient has to wait for around 6 months to allow the screw to integrate with the surrounding bone. Once the integration takes place, the dentist will then fix a crown on the exposed part of the screw.
In subperiosteal implants, the metal framework of the dental implant is placed under the gums so that it rests on the jaw bone. This type of implant is used for people who do not have too much bone mass in the jaw or are not good candidates for endosteal dental implants. In subperiosteal dental implants, a screw-like structure comes out of the gums just like in endosteal implants. The crown is fixed to the structure once the gum and the surrounding areas heal completely.
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