When you lose a tooth to disease or injury, you can experience a few complications such as defective speech, rapid bone loss, and possible changes in your chewing patterns. Fortunately, replacing the missing tooth with dental implants can improve both your oral health and quality of life significantly.
Dental implants consist of a dental implant abutment and dental implant body. It can also come with an abutment fixation screw. The dental implant body is inserted into the jawbone surgically and will act as replacement of the tooth root. The abutment is attached to the implant body and supports the crown or artificial teeth.
Different Types of Dental Implants
If you suffer from trauma or injury that resulted in tooth loss, your dentist might recommend getting dental implants as a substitution. However, with so many dental implants available, it can be confusing to decide which one is the best option for you, depending on what you want and how much you are willing to spend.
All On Two Dental Implants
When deciding on the best option to replace missing teeth, key factors are taken into account. For patients who want a quick process that won’t interfere with their daily life, a three-part or all on four dental implants are considered the best option.
However, for those who don’t want to have anything in their mouth that can be difficult to remove later on, two dental implants are the recommended option. Many patients worry about how long it will take if they get all on two dental implants.
Understandably, the healing time can vary from one patient to another, but often it will take a few months. During recovery, some can experience difficulty eating or speaking properly while the gums and its surrounding bones are healing.
Bone-Anchored Dental Implants (BADI)
This type of dental implants are recommended for patients who don’t have sufficient bone mass in the jaws to support conventional or screw-shaped implants. Bone-anchored dental implants will not lie within the gums like the other methods.
Bone-anchored dental implants will penetrate deep inside the bone and come into direct contact with it. Bone-anchored dental implants are held in place by threaded rod that is implanted surgically into the jawbone.
All On Four Dental Implants
This dental implant option is ideal for those patients with four (or more) missing teeth that can be replaced by a set of oral implants. With this method, a long implant is placed into the upper jaw while two short ones are placed in the lower jaw.
This type of dental implant is beneficial for patients who don’t want to go through treatment using multiple implants. This is also the option for those who want to have minimal procedure done to their mouth. This also required less appointments to complete.
Are You a Good Candidate for Dental Implants? Key Factors to Consider
Before opting for dental implants, it is recommended that you first speak with your dental provider about the potential risks, benefits, and the key factors to take into account. Some of the things that will be considered include:
- Your overall health is one key factor that can help determine if you are a good candidate for the procedure.
- Smoking can affect the healing process significantly. It can also impact the long-term success of dental implants. With that in mind, don’t forget to tell your dental provider if you are a heavy smoker. If you won’t be considered a great candidate for dental implants, your dentist can recommend other options that will suit your case best.
- The procedure and the healing process might take several months so make sure you can commit to what it takes before giving it a go.
