How are dental implants attached in the jaw bone? How do they function? How do dental implants help?

Dental Implants are an excellent way to replace a missing tooth or several missing teeth. They have been successfully used in dentistry since 1965 and are now a highly predictable, widely accepted treatment modality. A dental implant is actually a replacement for the root or roots of a tooth. Like tooth roots, teeth implants are secured in the jawbone and are not visible once surgically placed. They are used to secure crowns (the parts of the teeth seen in the mouth), bridgework or dentures by a variety of means. They are made of titanium, which is lightweight, strong and biocompatible, which means that it is not rejected by the body. Titanium and titanium alloys are the most widely used metals in both dental and other bone implants, such as orthopedic joint replacements. Dental implants procedure have the highest success rate of any implanted surgical device.

Titanium’s special property of fusing to bone, called Osseo-integration (“Osseo” – bone; “integration” – fusion or joining with), is the biological basis of dental implant success. That’s because when teeth are lost, the bone that supported those teeth is lost too. Placing dental implants stabilizes bone, preventing its loss. Along with replacing lost teeth, implants help maintain the jawbone’s shape and density. This means they also support the facial skeleton and, indirectly, the soft tissue structures – gum tissues, cheeks and lips. Dental implants help you eat, chew, smile, talk and look completely natural. This functionality imparts social, psychological and physical well-being.

Every way you look at it, dental implants are a better solution to the problem of missing teeth. An implant is the most natural, cost-effective, and least invasive way to replace missing teeth.

Aesthetic

Teeth implants look and feel like your own teeth! Since dental implants integrate into the structure of your bone, they prevent the bone loss and gum recession that often accompany bridgework and dentures. No one will ever know that you have a replacement tooth.

Conservative:

Dental implants don’t sacrifice the quality of your adjacent teeth like a bridge does because the neighboring teeth are not altered to support the implant. More of your own teeth are left untouched, a significant long-term benefit to your oral health!

Confidence:

Dental implants will allow you to once again speak and eat with comfort and confidence! They are secure and offer freedom from the irksome clicks and wobbles of dentures. They’ll allow you to say goodbye to worries about misplaced dentures and messy pastes and glues.

Reliability:

The success rate of dental implants is highly predictable. They are considered the best option for tooth replacement. A bridge or partial denture will have to be replaced many times in your life, costing much more in the long-term, whereas your implants will last you a lifetime once done and maintained properly.

A single dental implant at our clinic in Pune is a very common and regular procedure in our practice which can be used to replace any missing or damaged tooth in your mouth. It is the most natural, cost-effective, least-invasive and a long-term tooth replacement treatment.

This procedure normally includes one to four visits. Here is a more detailed description of the procedure to replace your single missing tooth using a dental implant. The course of treatment described here is one of several options available.

Before the procedure:

An examination and one or more X-rays of the area are made to prepare for the procedure and diagnose your unique situation. The area will be checked carefully for any signs of bone or gum loss. If required a CBCT scan may be advised.

Placing the implant:

During the implant surgery, a precise preparation is made in the bone where the implant is fitted. This is done under Local anaesthesia because of which you won’t feel a thing of the procedure. Because we use precision driven methods, you will not feel any pain during the surgery or later during the healing phase. After the implant is placed in the jaw bone, a temporary tooth may be provided for front teeth that will allow you to eat and function like normal, almost immediately. The implant will need a few months to integrate with the jawbone before the next step is taken.

Attaching the new crown:

The final step is the placement of the final ceramic tooth which can be cemented or screwed in place. To do that we take the measurement of the implant in the jaw in relation to the surrounding teeth with the help of our 3 Shape intra oral scanner. That digital measurement is used by the dental laboratory to manufacture a beautifully crafted bespoke artificial tooth to be fixed onto your implant.

End Result:

You can expect the new tooth to feel fit, and function just like a natural tooth. You would need to do your usual dental hygiene to keep the tooth and gums around it clean and healthy.

This section describes scenarios in which you may have 2 or more missing teeth together in either parts of your jaws.

In the back of the mouth where bite forces are extremely strong, one implant per tooth is ideal. Although not always required, most patients prefer to have individual teeth rather than an implant bridge for the back teeth. With individual implant crowns, you will be able to floss your teeth normally. With an implant bridge, an easy to use floss threader will have to be used on a daily basis to get under the middle teeth. We will aid you in making the best decision for your particular situation.

In the front of the mouth, we may recommend an implant bridge as opposed to individual front teeth implant crowns. The main reason for this is cosmetic. The natural shape of the gums is the “scalloped” shape and those tiny triangles of gum in between the teeth can be created more predictably with a bridge. At Smilekraft Dentistry, the aesthetic outcome of the “pink part,” the gums, is as important as the “white part,” the teeth. Many patients and doctors often neglect the aesthetics of the gum contours, which truly makes a tooth look natural. In addition, the bite forces are not as much as the back teeth, so fewer implants can be used.

After the initial examination, you can expect 1-4 additional visits until the final fixed teeth are permanently attached. In the following picture, when replacing three teeth in the far back of the mouth, a fixed bridge anchored to dental implants was the treatment given.

The course of treatment described here is one of the several options available. Individual teeth can also be made for a similar situation.

Before the procedure:

Suppose three teeth at the back end of the mouth are missing. The only natural fixed replacement alternative are implants. A procedure similar to a single implant placement of investigation, diagnosis and treatment planning would be carried out with the help of digital scans, xrays and CBCT scans.

Placing the implant:

First, the implants are placed similarly as described in the single missing tooth section. This is normally done in a single session. A temporary bridge may be placed at the same time, making it possible for you to function like normal almost immediately after leaving the office.

Attaching the Bridge:

The implants need to integrate with the jawbone before the permanent bridge is attached. This is normally done 1-4 months after the implant installation. The time will vary, depending on the teeth affected and the aesthetic demands. The bridge contains all teeth in one piece and is anchored on dental implants.

End Result:

Dental Implants with teeth

The new bridge will handle all the pressure that your strong, natural back teeth did. You will have a stable and secure solution that will allow you to eat what you want.

When all teeth are missing or need to be replaced, full mouth teeth implants are the best permanent solution. Before dental implants, there were no solutions available for people who lost all their teeth besides full dentures. Today, it is possible to replace a full jaw with dental implants and a fixed bridge or implant over-denture that results in a permanent, stable and highly functional & aesthetic solution. In fact, dental implants have been used to replace dentures since 1965!

Benefits of Full Mouth Dental Implants:

Treatment:

The treatment procedure and number of visits is largely dependent on the specific conditions. But all in all, a few visits should be enough to have the entire procedure completed. Most patients report that they were much more comfortable following the procedure than they had anticipated. The course of treatment described here is the general way in which most of the options are carried out.

Before the procedure:

We determine what needs to be done by performing a very thorough exam. A panoramic X-ray will also be taken. In some cases, a CBCT or “CAT” scan may be necessary to evaluate your bone on a computer.

Placing the implant:

The first step is placing dental implants to replace the lost tooth roots. Temporary teeth may be attached that would enable you to eat and function like normal while waiting for the permanent bridge to be installed.

Attaching the Bridge:

After about a minimum of 2 or more months, the final bridge is securely installed on top of the implants. With a full jaw replacement like this, natural appearance and chewing function are restored.

End Result:

Your new teeth should be hard to tell from natural – both for you and others. People who have had traditional dentures before getting a fixed implant bridge often describe this as an overwhelming and very positive experience.

Now coming back to the question: Are dental implants painful?

The answer is ‘generally no’. It’s not an ‘absolute no’ because there may be some discomfort involved in few rare scenarios, though which can be easily countered with regular pain medications. As far as Chavan Hospital is concerned, we take care to cause as minimal discomfort as humanely possible, from the start till the end of the procedures. To start with, the anaesthesia we use, is injected with special techniques which causes least discomfort. After that, the procedure is absolutely painless. Later since we use the Waterlase laser and the non contact digital technology for teeth measurement, the second stage teeth fabrication procedures cause the least discomfort as compared to any other implant dental clinic performing it with their respective techniques.

Do dental implants hurt after placement or when in function? Are they safe for me? Do dental implants have any side effects?

Dental implants should never hurt when in function or after placement and complete healing. Rather you never feel a dental implant in the jaws. If done and maintained properly, you would never feel or even be able to see your dental implant. Dental implants are not connected with any nerve to the jaws. Thus they can never be painful. They may only hurt if something is wrong with them. That unfortunately is when they are about to fail. Although, such failures are rare (about 2-3%), pain during failure is further a distant possibility. Most of the times if an implant fails, it simply loosens from the bone without you feeling a thing.

Considering safety, they are absolutely safe and predictable to be used in the human body. Scientifically they don’t have any bad side effects. They only come with positive outcomes which are already mentioned above. Although, if you are the one to consider the worst case scenario, then the only loss that you may encounter would be an implant loss similar to your original tooth loss. That’s it, you would be back to how it started before the treatment. Since titanium dental implants are the most bio-compatible materials to be used they will never cause any side effects and function for you the whole of your life.