A dental implant is a metal rod that is placed in the jawbone to hold a false tooth in place. They are usually made of titanium, a metal that is well-tolerated by the body.
Over several months, the bone fuses with the metal implant. A small attachment is left protruding through the gum, and dentures or bridges can be screwed or clipped onto this attachment.
One implant can support one or more false teeth. Five or six implants are usually used to replace all the teeth in the jaw.
Why have dental implants?
There are a number of reasons why you may choose to have implants:
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Implants are not appropriate for everyone. You need to be in good general health, have healthy gums and your jawbone must be thick enough for the implant. There are, however, surgical procedures to increase the amount of bone in your jaw. Implants are more likely to be successful if you don't smoke. Your dentist will advise you whether implants are a suitable treatment for you.
Implants may not be an option for people with chronic conditions such as poorly-controlled diabetes or osteoporosis (see Related topics). This is because the jaw may not heal properly and the implants may not fuse with the jawbone. If implants are not suitable for you, your dentist will discuss alternative treatments with you.
Procedure
You may need to have an X-ray or a CT scan so that the dentist can check the thickness of your jawbone and the position of other structures in your mouth. A CT scan uses X-rays to build up a three-dimensional picture of your teeth and mouth
Implant surgery is usually carried out under local anaesthesia in which case your mouth and the area around your mouth will be numb but you will stay awake. In some cases, sedation may be available; this relieves anxiety and causes temporary relaxation without putting you to sleep. For some patients, the procedure may be carried out under general anaesthesia which means that you will be asleep throughout the procedure and will feel no pain.
A cut will be made in the gum and a hole will be made in the jawbone. The implant will be fitted into this hole.
Your dentist may place the implant into the tooth socket directly after your tooth has been taken out and replace the root of the natural tooth straight away. Alternatively the implant can be placed into the jawbone long after the tooth has been removed and the socket has healed.
Once the implant is in place, the gum will be stitched over it and the area will be left to heal. Stitches are usually removed after about a week.
Sometimes your dentist can attach artificial teeth on the same day you have the implant. Usually, however, you will need to wait for between three and six months while your mouth heals before it can be fitted. The healing process allows time for your jawbone to fuse securely with the surface of the implant.
While your mouth is healing, your dentist may fit a temporary bridge or partial denture so you can't see the spaces between your remaining teeth. If you have complete dentures, they can generally be adjusted so that you can wear them throughout this period.
How many teeth can be supported by implants?
All the common forms of tooth replacement, such as bridges or dentures can be replaced by dental implants.
If you are missing just one natural tooth, then one implant is normally all that will be needed to provide a replacement. Larger spaces created by two, three or more missing teeth do not necessarily need one implant per tooth, however the exact number of implants will depend upon the quality and volume of bone at each potential implant site.
Occasionally, it is even possible to join natural teeth to implants with a conventional bridge.
In the upper jaw, bone density is generally poorer than in the lower and if you have no teeth at all, most treatment providerswill want to place a minimum of 6 implants to support a complete arch of 10 or more replacement teeth.
In the lower jaw, the bone towards the front of the mouth is often very strong and as a direct result, fewer implants may be needed than are required to treat a whole upper jaw. A simple treatment plan to provide 10 or more teeth in the lower jaw might be possible with as few as 4 implants, although it is still more common to use 5 or 6.
Who is suitable for dental implants?
If you have good general health then dental implants will almost certainly work for you. However, habits such as heavy drinking or smoking can increase the number of problems associated with initial healing and thereafter may negatively influence the long-term health of gum and bone surrounding each implant. Remaining teeth might also be compromised making treatment planning less certain.
Some dentists will decline to place implants if smoking cannot be reduced or given up altogether.
If you have any other complicated medical problems then speak to someone with relevant experience - it is rare to have health problems that prevent the use of dental implants.
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