What are dental implants?
Dental implants are substitutes for the root of teeth. Once an implant is placed, a replacement tooth will be inserted. The implants are generally made of titanium because of the metals ability to fuse with living bone, a process known as osseointegration.
What types of dental implants are there?
There are various types of implants, depending on the patients need, and overall bone health. Here you can find information on the different types of dental implants and implant surgery:
Root Form implants, named so because of their resemblence to the natural root, consists of a cylindrical, or screw type implant inserted into the bone. In time, the bone will fuse to the dental implant. Once the dental implant is securely in the bone, a titanium post with a crown will be attached.
If the bone of the jaw has thinned too much, and is too narrow for root form implants, a patient can get "plate form" implants. The process involves placing a thin flat plate against the thin bone of the jaw. Once securely in place, a cap is placed on the implant. Plate form implants can be used for a single implant, or multiple implants.
If plate form and root form implants are not an option due to severe thinning of the jaw bone, a patient can consider subperiosteal implant, which is custom made per patient, and is designed to sit on top of the jaw bone. Plate form implants are then attached to the subperiosteal bar.
Because subperiosteal implants are custom made per patient, multiple surgical procedures may be required to ensure proper fitting. A CAT scan of the jaw can also be used if a single surgery is more beneficial.
For more information on dental implants and implant dentistry, click on COSMETIC DENTISTRY.
Subperiosteal Dental Implants