Dental Implants

When it comes to filling up the space left by missing teeth, people generally have two options – dentures or dental implants. Dental implants are becoming more popular due to their relative permanence once they have been inserted.

There are several types of dental implants, which were first created during the second half of the twentieth century:

1. All-on-Four: This is one of the latest innovations – a person can have an entire upper or lower row of teeth replaced on just four screws. It’s a tremendous time-saver as well as using a minimum amount of resources. The only drawback is that it’s really for the front part of the mouth, not the back molars, so those will need the more traditional implants. This also needs the most bone mass in the jaw to be successful.
2. Traditional implants: These is generally done over the course of several months. The first thing that happens is that the dentist or specialist will insert a titanium screw or several of them into the jawbone to allow them to fuse with the bone before continuing. The screw will act as the missing root. Before even doing this step, the dentist or specialist has to ascertain that there’s enough bone mass in the jaw for the screws to hold. If there’s not, they may try bone grafting to produce that mass. After the bone fuses with the screw, the replacement tooth or teeth are attached. The patient then goes on eating and drinking as normal, since these act like normal teeth.
3. Mini implants – this is another step forward in this field. These can be done with patients who have less bone mass than needed for a traditional implant. There’s less recovery time and many dentists find this easier to do than the traditional way. The screws are much smaller.
4. Same-day implants. These are attached the same day but with the caveat that they are not going to be as firm or stable as those who do the longer course of the procedure.

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