Dental implants are inserted into the jawbone to support a restorative or replacement crown, bridge, or denture, and are designed to artificially replace a natural tooth root. They may be the best option for people who are missing one or more teeth as a result of an injury, periodontal disease, or other oral health issues.
Benefits
• Success rates of treatment are in excess of 95%
• They are durable and permanent
• Minimal maintenance is required other than good oral hygiene and professional dental checkups and cleanings
• Feel natural and comfortable and provide the best aesthetics
• Only tooth loss solution that prevents jawbone loss
• Teeth adjacent to the gap do not need to be modified
• Can be more cost-effective in the longer term, due to the long lifespan of the treatment
Disadvantages
• Treatment is more invasive – a surgical procedure is required to insert the implant
• Treatment takes longer and requires a greater number of dental visits compared to other options
• Most expensive tooth replacement solution
When To Choose Dental Implants
If you are a candidate for treatment and can afford dental implants, this is the best option. Treatment is a long-term solution for tooth loss, with the best aesthetic results. Although treatment is more expensive, it may be less expensive in the long run because implant restorations do not need to be replaced as frequently as a dental bridge. Furthermore, an implant preserves the jawbone and gum tissue, and your dentist is not required to grind down healthy teeth.
Implant-Supported Fixed Bridge
It is not necessary to replace every single tooth with a single dental implant when using an implant-supported fixed bridge. Instead, an implant-supported fixed bridge will replace several missing teeth and can even replace an entire arch of teeth. The number of implants needed depends on the type of dental implant used by your Implantologist and the number of teeth being restored. An implant-supported bridge resembles a tooth-supported fixed bridge in appearance and can be cemented or screwed into place. An Implantologist may choose to screw the bridge onto the implants because it is easier to retrieve the bridge if it needs cleaning or repairing. The screw holes in the bridge are virtually invisible because they are filled with tooth-colored composite resin.
Benefits
• Provides very good aesthetic results
• Feels and looks very natural, making it easy to speak and to eat virtually anything
• Easy to look after and can be brushed and flossed just like an ordinary tooth-supported fixed bridge
• Cost is lower compared to replacing every single tooth with a single dental implant
• Should last for many years before it needs replacing
• No need for your dentist to grind down healthy teeth
Disadvantages
• Only suitable if the missing teeth are situated adjacent to each other
• Requires a greater number of visits and treatment takes longer to complete compared to a tooth-supported fixed bridge or a denture
• Implant treatment does require a small surgical procedure
When To Choose An Implant-Supported Fixed Bridge
This option is ideal for anyone who wants to experience the sensation of having strong, stable teeth that are not removable. Although more expensive than All-on-Four implant-supported dentures, this solution allows you to forget you ever had teeth loss. Within reason, your teeth are strong enough to allow you to eat almost any food you want. It also looks great, especially because the bridge can be built to replace any missing gum tissue with gum-colored porcelain.
All-On-Four Implant Supported Dentures/ All-On-Six
A full-arch lower denture can be supported with four implants, whereas an upper denture may require six implants. Two implants are placed directly in front of the arch in the positions previously occupied by your front teeth.
The final two implants were placed on either side, at a 45° angle tilting towards the back of the mouth. The overdenture will be attached to the dental implants with special attachments on its fitting surface.
Benefits
• Affordable due to the fewer number of implants required to support a complete arch of teeth
• More stable and strong than dentures
• Make it possible to enjoy a wider variety of foods compared to dentures
• Can be constructed without a palate so it will feel less bulky and eating will be more enjoyable because you will be able to taste food more easily
• Can easily be removed for cleaning
Disadvantages
• A denture is still removable, which some people may find undesirable
• Care needs to be taken when eating, as foods that are particularly chewy or hard could damage the denture
• Special attachments on the fitting surface will need to be regularly maintained and must be replaced periodically
When To Choose An Overdenture/All-On-Four Implants
This treatment is relatively inexpensive, and despite the fact that the denture is removable, patients benefit from the stability of having fixed teeth. People who have had significant jawbone loss may also benefit from treatment. This is because the implants are placed near the front of the jaw, where the bone is naturally thicker and stronger, making it more capable of supporting dental implants.
Loading the implants is frequently possible shortly after treatment, and patients may be able to receive their new implant-supported denture just hours or a day or two after surgery.
If You Do Nothing
Those are the most common methods for replacing one or more missing teeth, but there is another option: nothing. However, if at all possible, avoid making this choice.
Because of the lack of stimulation provided by a natural tooth root, jawbone density decreases after a natural tooth is extracted. If you later decide to replace the tooth with an implant, you may require a bone graft to compensate for the lost bone If, you do nothing, any adjacent teeth may move out of position, potentially destabilising them and affecting your bite. While it’s not always possible to replace missing teeth immediately after their loss (financially and/or physically), it is important to figure out a more permanent way of replacing them as soon as possible.
