What We Need To Know About Dental Implants?

The Compleo Dental Implant Treatment Plan Dr. Singh discusses the important things that you need to know about dental implants in order to make informed decisions on their use.

Dr.Singh:

One of the things that you should know is that dental implants are a proven method for permanently restoring teeth. It not an experimental technology anymore, and hasn’t been for many years. People ask me, “well… how proven is it”? We have over 50 years worth of evidence to prove that it does work, and it does work for the long term… it doesn’t fail. Once you have a dental implant properly placed, and properly restored, you can reasonably expect that implant to last the rest of your life. The top portion, the crown, which is made of porcelain, may deteriorate over time due to wear and tear, accident, etc., but the implant, made of titanium, a inert metal, integrates exceptionally well into bone (osseointegration) … And to date, no reaction has been found to titanium. It’s used in all kinds of surgeries such as hip transplants, and is a safe and proven method for replacing a tooth.

Another thing that’s important to know is that dental implants can be placed in a non-invasive manner. If it’s handled properly, using advanced technology and placement techniques, you can avoid significant pain or discomfort. Most people are surprised at the end of the procedure and ask, “is that it”? “What else is coming?” “I didn’t feel anything.” And that’s the way it should be. It’s come a long way from the first days of doing implants. Costs have come down substantially because the original patents have expired. So it’s now a very affordable and proven way of getting a permanent dental solution. And in many cases, dental implants provide a dental solution that is not possible using other methods. So it’s a proven technology, its affordable, and there isn’t very much to be concerned about. 

Dr.Singh:

When a dental implant is placed immediately, right after a tooth is extracted (due to a fracture or a similar trauma), that is considered the best situation. In my experience, I’ve found that to be a very efficient procedure. The patient doesn’t have to be frozen a second time, they don’t leave with a gap in their teeth, and they don’t need to wear a temporary device such as a denture, which might feel foreign to that patient. We’re able to remove that root, place an implant, place a temporary abutment, which is the connector portion, and place a temporary crown, all in one visit. The patient walks out looking like they have a real tooth. Depending on the situation, and when we think it’s appropriate, that temporary crown will be replaced with a permanent crown, once the implant has had some time to integrate with the bone in a month, or in some cases six months later. It depends on the strength of the bone and the pace of integration. If the bone is weaker then we leave it to heal and integrate over a longer period. If the bone structure and stability is very good, then can place the permanent crown earlier.

In the scenario where the patient has lost the tooth a long time ago, and we are planning to place an implant and a crown for example, we can preplan that crown so that we have ideal positioning using our 3-D scanning technology. In this situation, we can place the crown in the same day if it’s appropriate. Again, in most cases, we place a temporary crown for a short period of time until we’re confident that we have stability of that implant and not overloading it at too early a stage. But in an ideal situation, it’s possible to do an implant, an abutment, and a crown all in the same day. Same day dental implants, can be done in ideal situations.