Dental Implants

A dental inplants are tooth root replacement and is used in prosthetic dentistry. There are several types. A variation on the implant procedure is the implant-supported bridge, or implant-supported denture.

A typical implant consists of a titanium screw (resembling a tooth root) with a roughened surface. This surface is treated either by plasma spraying, etching or sandblasting to increase the integration potential of the implant.

A single implant procedure takes about one hour, sometimes longer; multiple implants can be done in a single surgical session lasting several hours. At the conclusion of surgery, the patient goes through a period of recovery, returns to consciousness and is sent home with a spouse or friend.

Prior to surgery, a panoramic X-ray will be taken using a metal ball of known dimension so that calibrated measurements can be made from the image.
Drilling into jawbone usually occurs in several separate steps. The pilot hole is expanded by using progressively wider drills (typically between three and seven successive drilling steps, depending on implant width and length). Care is taken not to damage the osteoblast or bone cells by overheating. A cooling saline spray keeps the temperature of the bone to below 47 degrees Celsius (approximately 117 degrees Fahrenheit).
The implant screw can be self-tapping, and is screwed into place at a precise torque so as not to overload the surrounding bone (overloaded bone can die, a condition called osteonecrosis, which may lead to failure of the implant to fully integrate or bond with the jawbone).
Once properly torqued into the bone, a cover screw is placed on the implant, then the gingiva or gum is sutured over the site and allowed to heal for several months for integration to occur between the titanium surface of the implant and jawbone.
After several months the implant is uncovered in another surgical procedure, usually under local anesthetic by the restorative dentist, and a healing abutment and temporary crown is placed onto the implant. This encourages the gum to grow in the right scalloped shape to approximate a natural tooth's gums and allows assessment of the final aesthetics of the restored tooth. Once this has occurred a permanent crown will be fabricated and placed on the implant.