A Guide to Types of Dental Implants

Losing teeth can happen to anyone. It can occur due to dental trauma, a complication during a dental procedure, severe tooth decay, periodontal disease, and more. When you’re missing teeth, eating and talking can be difficult. Not to mention, you can look and feel less attractive with missing teeth. If missing teeth are not replaced, the underlying jawbone tends to deteriorate due to lack of stimulation, leading to secondary conditions.

Luckily, there’s a solution to restore your beautiful smile and oral function. Dental implants offer stability, strength, and look like a natural tooth.

Who’s a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

Not everyone is an ideal candidate for dental implants. For instance, patients with poor oral health, unhealthy jawbone, poor dental hygiene, and smokers might not qualify for dental implants. These factors can increase the risk of implant failure and lead to further complications.

To know whether or not you are a good candidate for dental implants, you should visit a dentist near you for an assessment. The dentist will inspect your mouth and determine the most appropriate treatment plan. If you have existing dental problems, the dentist will address them before placing the implants. If you have a weak or unhealthy jawbone, you will have to get a bone graft before the implant surgery.

Type of Dental Implants

An implant consists of titanium posts fixed into the jawbone under the gum. The implant fuses with the bone and acts as natural tooth roots. When considering dental implants, they are different types. These include:

• Endosteal Implants – Endosteal or endosseous implants are the most popular and commonly used implants. The implants consist of screw-like posts, which fix into the jawbone. They are suited for patients with healthy jawbones and gums for the post to fuse correctly. If you don’t have sufficient jawbone, you might have to consider bone grafting or other types of implants.The oral surgeon begins by numbing the area near the lost tooth to fit the implant. Next, they drill into the jawbone and inserts titanium posts which act as artificial roots to the lost teeth. The implant fused with the jawbone to create a strong bond in a process called osseointegration. Once it heals, an abutment tooth and crown add to fit blend with the rest of your teeth.Endosteal Implants are the safest, effective, most stable, and offer the most natural-feeling results compared to other implant types.

• Subperiosteal implants – Subperiosteal implants may be a better option if you are not keen on the idea of the dentist drilling into your jawbone. These implants rest on top of the bone but under the gum.These implants are for patients who don’t have enough jawbone for an endosteal implant to fuse successfully and still don’t want to undergo bone grafting. Subperiosteal implants are mainly used to support dentures in patients with insufficient bone height. On average, the dental implant treatment is completed within two appointments. Compared to endosteal Implants, subperiosteal implants are less stable.

• Zygomatic Implants – Zygomatic implants are the rarest. Unlike other implants supported by the jawbone, zygomatic implants rest on the patient’s cheekbone, making the procedure very complex and risky. Zygomatic implants are only done when the patient lacks sufficient jawbone for endosteal and subperiosteal implants to rest successfully.Endosteal implants are the safest and most popular, followed by subperiosteal implants and zygomatic implants.

Other Techniques

Apart from the three types of implants, your dentist can use other techniques such as:

• Bone Augmentation – This treatment seeks to repair and rebuild unhealthy jawbone to allow an implant to fuse successfully.
• Sinus Lift – The treatment seeks to add or repair bone below the sinus if the underlying bone has deteriorated due to missing upper back teeth.
• Ridge Expansion – This treatment seeks to add graft material to your top jaw if the jaw isn’t wide enough to support an implant.
• Immediate dental implants – This procedure involves placing the implant and the replacement tooth on the same day, rather than waiting for the implant to heal first.
• All-On-4 dental implants – This treatment involves placing four dental implants in the available bone to replace a set of top or bottom lost teeth.

Schedule an Appointment Today

Thanks to dental implants, your perfect smile, and oral function can be restored. For dental implants services near you, contact Beverly Dental Group.