Dental Implants

Dental implants are basically the artificial titanium stubs which can be fitted inside the jaw on which an artificial tooth can be affixed. The implant is replacement for the root of the tooth, which may have gone through decay.
There are both individual dental implants and bridge implants for teeth.

Implants can be used for individual teeth since they are not linked to the neighboring teeth, but are instead added into the jaw. For people making use of dentures, many implants can be inserted and bridged into the jaw. Once the implants are in place, the crowns of the teeth are fixed on them.

Implant surgery result into a remarkable change in the patient’s life. For most of people who have lost their teeth, implants can aid to regain their original smiles. People with implanted teeth do not face any difficulty in biting and chewing food and in most of the cases people do not see much difference with original or natural teeth.

There are three main types of dental implants i.e. artificial bone substitute implant, sub-periosteal implants and endosteal implants. Artificial bone substitute implants make use of a calcium substitute for fitting over the jaw bone.

This substitute bonds over the existing jaw bone over time. Endosteal implants are wedged into the jaw instead of the dental root. Sub-periosteal implants are those specialized implants which are preferred for elderly persons who can no longer wear dentures. Sub-periosteal implants are fixed directly on the jaw bone.

Surgeries involving dental implants are no longer painful because they used to be in their conceptive stages. Local anesthetics permit for painless dental surgeries. However, the implant should be performed by a qualified maxillofacial or periodontist surgeon.

Dental implants are required to be taken care of. However they do not need any special maintenance as compared to normal teeth. Regular checkups, brushing and flossing are enough. Dentists may suggest people with dental implants to stay away from gummy and chewy food so as not to over-exert the artificial tooth crown.

Surgeries of dental implants are quite expensive. Their cost may vary from $500-$6000 depending on the type of implanted utilized and whether a maxillofacial surgeon is involved or not. A general implant operation for a single tooth would cost around $2000.

Most of the implant surgeries cannot be covered fully by dental plans and the rest of the payment has to be done by the patients themselves.