What Is a Dental Implant?
(Part 3)
This week we will do a deep dive on the factors dictating the success or failure of a dental Implant.
The health of the patient will be a huge determining factor when it comes to the success of the dental implantation process.
The medicines being taken by the patient will also affect osseointegration.
If the tissues of the mouth of the patient are not healthy or suffering from some sort of gingival or periodontal disease, then it could loosen the implant in the same way real tooth roots are loosened up by such gum problems.
It is important to bear in mind to remember these important things:
It is important to maintain good gum health because dental implants may not work if the gums are not up to par. The reason is because while your gums are infected, it’s not advisable for the patient to undergo a major dental surgery like putting in a dental implant for risk of making the infection spread or become worse.
It is best to treat the condition first until the patient is ready for surgery.
In some cases, the bite force and the amount of stress on the implant will be taken into consideration as well by the dentist.
Patients need to understand that proper planning and positioning is the key to ensure that a solid bridge or set of dentures is created.
Without such precautions, the long-term health of the implants will be put in jeopardy, as biomechanical process from chewing can be great enough to dislodged poorly placed implants.
The patient should also have adequate bone density in your mandibular or maxillary jaws to support and anchor the dental implant.
If the jawbone and chin is too thin or small to support an implant, the patient might have to undergo a bone graft.
There is a possibility that a sinus lift may be needed, if the patient’s sinuses are too close to the jaw or there isn’t enough bone height on the patient’s upper jaw.
In this case, extra bone grafting may lead to longer healing time and cause a delay in the implant surgery.
The dentist and surgeon that will be implanting the implant post should also find out the position of the implant relative to the angle of the adjacent teeth through the use of certain tools like computed tomography.
The dentist and the surgeon could or may use stents or surgical guides during the surgery.
Next week we will talk about atrophy concerns and other factors to consider when looking to get dental implants.