Learning to Manage Your Dental Problems

Patients Should Know These 3 Things About Dental Implants

22 July 2022 by Charlotte Beck

Dental implants offer a level of functionality and comfort that's hard for other solutions to match. If you're thinking about implant options, though, you should understand a few basic things about them. Discuss these three issues with your dentist so you can determine if implants are right for you.

What Are Dental Implants?

A dental implant is distinguished from other options by the use of medical-grade metallic posts. These serve to anchor the implants so they can handle the force of chewing, talking, and other activities. A medical practitioner will implant the posts into the boney area between the jawbone and the top of the gums. These are small sections left over from when teeth were there, and they can develop around the implant posts to provide firm anchors.

Once a dentist has installed the posts, they will add a prosthetic device similar to a dental bridge. This provides a chewing surface for you to eat normally. The prosthetic goes over the posts so everything will stay in place.

Oral Health

Notably, good oral health is important when using dental implants. This doesn't mean a person can't get them if they have gum disease or dental caries. However, the patient will need to work with their dentist to get those issues under control first. Once a person's other dental issues are controlled and their gums have recovered, they may be a candidate for implants.

Doctors also want people to limit unhealthy activities at this time. Particularly, smoking can reduce the odds of success with implants.

Also, you should consider getting dental implants as quickly as possible after having extractions. The bone underneath the teeth will atrophy if it doesn't experience regular chewing forces. A dentist will generally prefer to have as solid of an anchor point as possible for the implant procedure.

Form

Typical dental implants are installed in arches. One section replaces multiple teeth, up to potentially replacing all the teeth on one side of the mouth. If someone needed to replace every tooth with a set of implants, a doctor would install a total of four arches.

Less aggressive options are sometimes available. If someone with severe acid reflux needed to replace all their molars on side of their mouth, for example, a dentist might be able to install a smaller arch. There are also single-tooth replacement options if the other teeth line up well enough to allow it.

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