Having a proper understanding of the basics and intricacies of dental health will help you identify when you need to seek a professional’s help in addressing an emerging issue. Therefore, it is crucial to familiarize yourself with the basics of some common dental implements, the ailments they help treat, and how to identify the need to get them.
Let us begin by talking about dental implants.
What Is A Dental Implant?
A dental implant is a medical device that dentists use to replace missing teeth. Dental implants are also used to enhance your appearance and restore your ability to chew.
Per-Ingvar Branemark, a Swedish orthopedic surgeon, first invented the dental implant in 1952. Since then, these implants have become the standard of dental care for missing tooth replacement.
Missing teeth can cause bite misalignment. Moreover, the gaps can alter your face’s shape by creating hollows in the cheeks. As a result, your appearance may be altered, leading to discomfort, anxiety or unhappiness with your looks. Therefore, rectifying missing teeth is crucial for more than just your dental health.
Fortunately, Dr Branemark’s solution was so effective that you can reap the benefits of its existence today.
When Do You Need Dental Implants?
Dental implants become necessary when you lose a tooth through injury or disease. Therefore, you may notice such symptoms as defective speech, rapid bone loss or altered chewing patterns that lead to some discomfort.
Installing Dental Implants
Dental implant installation is a surgical process. Therefore, when you attend your installation appointment, your dentist will administer some sedation via general or local anesthetic or IV.
After the anesthesia starts working, the dental surgeon makes a small incision in the gum line at the tooth’s placement spot. Next, they drill through the incision into the jawline, at which point they place an implant post. Finally, the dental implant gets attached to the post, thus ensuring it is positioned securely in the mouth.
Alternatively, you can forego the implant post with the implant and have the dental surgeon place a temporary denture over the hole to maintain the space until they can install the permanent tooth.
Since you will be under anesthesia during the procedure, you must rest after its completion until the medicine wears off. However, you should be able to resume your usual routine the following day, despite some expected discomfort and swelling around the new implant’s installation site.
Once the dental implant is in place, you must continue to observe proper dental hygiene by maintaining a thorough tooth cleaning routine and consuming a healthy, balanced diet.
The Types Of Dental Implants
There are two primary dental implants based on their installation methods. These are:
- Endosteal – the dental surgeon installs and secures this type of implant in the bone. They use small titanium screws to secure the implant deep in the jawbone as a tooth root replacement.
- Subperiosteal – this implant type goes over the bone. Instead, the dental professional inserts it into the gum rather than the bone. Using the subperiosteal implant becomes necessary when there is insufficient healthy jawbone to support the endosteal type.
Summary
Now that you have the basic information on dental implants, it may be best to perform a quick self-examination to determine whether you need this procedure. Consider the symptoms listed above carefully and check if any readily present themselves. If you have some missing teeth, it may be best to book an appointment with your dentist to evaluate and recommend the best solution. Remember, implants are also a solution for diseased teeth.
