The Dental Implant Process Article

	1888 Articles Home \| Health Articles \| Personal Issues Articles	Health RSS
The Dental Implant Process

If you are considering dental implants for the replacement of one or more missing teeth, it is important that you understand the process for placement of dental implants. Understanding the process can help you understand whether dental implants are the right choice for you.

Author: Sara Goldstein

Article Tools:

Why Replace Missing Teeth

The dental implant process begins, somewhat unpleasantly, with the loss of a tooth or teeth. Once you have lost a tooth or teeth, all your other teeth are at risk. With a tooth missing, your other teeth can begin to drift. As your teeth move out of alignment, they may suffer additional force when you chew, resulting in damage. They may also be harder to clean, making gum disease more likely. Gum disease is the most common cause for tooth loss among adults. Some form of replacement tooth will help protect your other teeth.

Placing the Implant

The first step in the dental implant process is placing the implant. The dental implant takes the place of your natural tooth root and is placed in your jawbone. Most implants used today are screw-type implants. They just screw directly into your bone. If you have this part of the procedure performed at the same time as you have a tooth extracted, there is no need for surgery--the implant is just screwed in where the tooth was removed.

Immediate Loading or Not?

Some dental practices aggressively advertise that you can get your dental implant procedure completed immediately. To accomplish this, they simply place a dental crown atop the implant the same day that the implant is placed in your mouth. This means that if you go in to your dentist for a tooth extraction, you leave with a dental restoration that day and never have to have a smile missing a tooth. Obviously, this is very appealing, but it is not always a good idea.

When your implant is first placed in your jaw, it is in a vulnerable position--if it is subjected to too much force, or force in the wrong direction, it can damage your jawbone and prevent proper healing. This will cause the dental implant to fail. Failure of a dental implant not only means you won't have your implant, it can lead to infection of your jawbone, which can lead to bone loss. If you are not a candidate for immediate loading, which depends on the state of your bone and bite as well as the position of the implant, you may have to wait up to six months for the implant to fully heal.

Placing the Dental Crown

Whether it is performed immediately or after a delay, placement of a dental crown atop the implant completes the dental implant process. Sometimes this requires an intermediate step, the placement of a small abutment that attaches the crown to the implant, which may require minor surgery and a couple of weeks to heal.

Once your implant is ready to receive the crown, an impression is taken of your bite and the crown is designed. Depending on the position of the dental implant and your aesthetic goals, the dental crown can either be crafted using advanced CAD/CAM techniques while you wait in the dentist's office, or it can be sent to a dental lab, which may take a couple weeks to complete.

Maintaining Your New Tooth

Once you have completed the dental implant process, you will have a brand new, aesthetic, and fully functional tooth to replace the one you lost. This tooth does not require special care to maintain--just take care of your overall dental health.

If you have more questions about the dental implant process, you can get information on the website of Willow Dental, serving the Toronto area from Mississauga, Ontario.

About Author

Great dental care is just a call away when you choose Willow Dental Associates for all of your dentistry needs. Their cosmetic dentists offer tooth whitening, dental implants, and porcelain veneers to restore your smile. Their general dentists keep your smile shining with regular maintenance. If you are suffering from headaches and migraines without relief from traditional medicine, the neuromuscular dentists there can help you with state-of-the-art temporomandibular joint disorder treatment.

Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com/author-sara-goldstein-4751.html