What Are Dental Implants?

A dental implant is an artificial tooth root replacement and is used mainly in prosthetic dentistry to support restorations that resemble a tooth or group of teeth. In simple terms, it’s nothing more than a metal shape placed into the jaw bone acting as an anchor for a false tooth or a set of false teeth. To replace a single missing tooth, a series of missing teeth, or for repairing the entire mouth, implants are the best choice.

The Need for Dental Implants

As people grow older, the dental mechanism wears out and the need arises for a permanent dental replacement system. Dentures and removable bridges cannot be relied upon as they are loose and unstable. Here is where implants come into the picture. Dental implants can serve people with replacements that are both functional and esthetic. Anyone in reasonable health who wants to replace missing teeth can undergo implantation. The only thing is that you must have enough bone in the area of the missing teeth to provide for the anchorage of the implants. People in whom all the teeth are missing are excellent candidates for dental implants, but today, they are used to replace small bridges, removable partial dentures and even missing single teeth.

Types of Dental Implants

There are several types of dental implants, but the two major ones are Osseo integrated implant and the fibro integrated implant. Osseo integrated implants are the ones that grows bone right up to the implant surface. In this case there is no scar tissue, cartilage or ligament fibres dwell between the bone and implant surface. As Osseointegration happens, the implant is well fused with the bone. Titanium, which is strong and easily fuse with bone is the metal used for dental implantations. Osseo integrated implants are the most widely recognized and successful implants today. Usually it takes four to six months period to complete this type of dental restoration treatments.
Subperiosteal implant and the blade implant are the fibro integrated types. Contact your dental practitioner for more information on types of dental implants and the ones that fits your bill.