There is no doubt that dental implants are the best solution for missing teeth. After deciding to put in an implant, you should carefully consider which type of implant you should choose. First of all, it should be clarified why a dental implant is the best option in case of missing teeth. Apart from providing a more natural appearance, it is more stable, lasts longer and there is no need to drill healthy teeth as is the case with bridges. At the same time, the implant also has the advantage of stimulating the bone where the tooth used to be, thus preventing the loss of bone mass and possible consequential change of the look of the face. Even though dental implants represent a significant financial investment, their advantage is that they can last much longer, maybe even a whole life, which ultimately makes them very cost-effective. It is very important to find implants which will suit your needs, but also to have the implantation done by top dentists since this type of procedure requires a skilful and competent dentist with proper education. At our office, a team of proven experts will make sure the entire procedure goes perfectly.
What is the difference between implants?
Different manufacturers often offer several types of implants for various procedures or patient needs. That is why some implants are shorter and wider for implantation closer to the sinuses, while others are narrower to be able to fit between front teeth. With implants, it is possible to replace one, several or all teeth. Even though all implants are made of titanium, there are different combinations. Titanium is used because of excellent properties, such as high biocompatibility, resistance to corrosion, hardness, low density, small weight, neutral taste, good X-ray visibility and acceptable price. There have been no recorded cases of allergic or toxic reactions to titanium to this day.
When is it desirable to put in an implant?
When a problem of a missing tooth appears, or when a tooth is missing between two completely healthy teeth. Grinding healthy teeth to place a bridge which will fill out a hole is a bad choice. It is best to put in a dental implant in that case.
Even in cases when several teeth are missing, every one of them can be replaced with an implant. There are also solutions when two implants are connected as bridge carriers, thus compensating for 3, or even 4 teeth. In case of the need for a dental implant, the patient should be in good general health and have anatomical structures which allow implantation – those are some of the preconditions for a successful implant placement and painless recovery!
Parts of implants
• Implant – root part of the tooth, which is placed, or implanted, in the place where a tooth is missing. That takes 20 minutes.
• Abutment or suprastructure, which is placed 4-6 months after implant placement. This process is painless and lasts 10 minutes.
• Crown, which is developed according to your unique mould, is cemented after placement of the suprastructure, and in a few days, you have a new tooth and a broad smile.
Of course, you should leave it to our dentists to recommend the implant which would be most suitable for you.
Smaller and thicker implants are embedded into the shorter and thicker jawbones, narrow and long implants are anticipated for front upper teeth, implants for white superstructures are developed for the front aesthetic region, smaller implants are placed in shallow alveolar ridges, which, later on, can serve as an anchor for a denture.
Types of implants
There are over 100 different types of implantation systems in clinical use today, used in different environments. There are numerous criteria for the division of implants. One of the most important divisions is based on the place of implantation and purpose. According to that classification, dental implants are divided into:
• transdental,
• endooseal
• subperiosteal and
• intramucosal implants
Transdental implants
These implants are characterised by not being embedded directly in the bone, but placed through the tooth’s root canal. The implant’s length, which is larger than the root’s length, enables extension of the tooth’s axis, thus increasing its stability. Most often, these implants are needle-shaped. They are especially indicated in fractures or resorption of the tooth root, periodontal disease and cysts covering more than one third of the root.
Endooseal implants
Endooseal implants are embedded into the bone tissue of the jaws by a special surgical technique. According to their shape, they are most often in the form of screws and cylinders. Out of all implants, endooseal are used most commonly and they comprise over 95% of all work with implants.
Subperiosteal implants
This type of implant is used only in cases when, due to a more pronounced decay of tooth continuation of the jaw, it is not possible to use any of the endooseal systems. The implant, which has a mesh shape, is placed immediately below the surface of the bone (which is denoted as a periosteum). The development and placement of these implants is a rather complicated procedure, so they comprise only 5% of the total amount of used implants. Apart from that, complications may include an infection which spreads very quickly along the implant, affecting the jawbone. That is another reason for their relatively rare use.
Intramucosal implants
Intramucosal implants are used very rarely because they are fixed only in soft tissue (mucosa). Numerous complications, poor stability of the denture, pain and sores on the mucosa, greatly limit their use.
There are also orthodontic mini implants made of titanium which are used as part of the treatment with fixed braces as an auxiliary element implanted into the bone and used as support for the action of the force when well-controlled, quick and efficient movement of teeth needs to be achieved, in the most comfortable way possible. Embedding of mini implants is very simple! A superficial anaesthetic is applied on the site of implantation to numb the gums. After that, a mini implant is gently placed through the gums in the bone tissue. Placement of mini implants is very quick and completely painless. When orthodontic treatment is completed, the mini implant is removed in a very simple way, lasting less than a minute.
