Implants

Patients many times due to one or more reasons lose teeth. Replacing these teeth is important as the remaining teeth will be taking more pressure than they are designed to take and could break. The more teeth you lose the worse this problem becomes. The best option is implants. An implant is a prosthetic root that the dentist can place a crown, bridge or denture attachment to. It is made of titanium and will be placed in the bone and allowed to heal in a way that the bone attaches to it and supports it. The implant prostheses cannot get cavities but they can get bone loss with periodontitis like reactions if they are not kept clean. Patients will sometimes need bone grafts if the area does not have enough existing bone. This is when artificial, animal or cadaver bone is surgically placed in the site of a bone defect or extraction in order to facilitate healing in such a manner that the bone is augmented in order to place an implant. Implants are sometimes immediately loaded with a temporary crown or the gums are stitched over them to allow for more healing into the bone before doing a temporary. Implants can be used as an anchor for bridges or crowns. Sometimes a partial or full denture will be held in place with some snaps called locators. This allows for more stability with the added ability to remove the denture when needed to clean it well.