What are they?

A dental implant is an appliance used to replace the roots of teeth. The implant is surgically attached to the jaw bone and an artificial tooth is attached to the top of the implant, creating a natural looking, undetectable replacement for the missing tooth. In the event that more than one tooth is missing, several implants may provide a base for a series of artificial teeth known as a fixed bridge.
Implants can even be used to secure a full set of removable dentures for people who have no remaining natural teeth. This can greatly improve chewing ability and reduce the risk of choking.


Advantages:

1. Dental implants with artificial teeth are the closest thing to regrowing your natural teeth.

2. They are strong, stable, durable and virtually undetectable.

3. By filling gaps left by missing teeth, implants can provide better chewing ability and head off jaw joint problems.

4. They are far superior to removable dentures.

Disadvantages:

1. Dental implants do require surgery and time to heal.

2. They are initially more expensive than dentures or fixed bridges.

Procedure:

First appointment
The dentist will examine your teeth and determine whether implants are the solution to your dental problems, x-rays are necessary to discover the state of the jawbone, particularly if the teeth have been lost for some time.
This information can be used to determine whether implants would work for you and, if so, what particular type of implant that would be best for your situation.

Second appointment
Under local anaesthesia, the first step for many implant procedures is the exposure of the bone where the implant is to be made. This is followed by placement of the implant into the exposed jawbone. Implants that are placed in the bone are called endosteal implants and are made of titanium or a titanium alloy because this metal does not adversely interact with biological tissue. After placement of the implant a cover screw is put in and the wound is closed with stitches and allowed to heal. In general, placements in the lower jaw need to heal for about three months, while placements in the upper jaw need to heal for about six months.

Third appointment
During this appointment a second surgical procedure is executed; the implant is uncovered, the cover screw is removed and a healing abutment or a temporary crown is placed in the implant. Temporary crowns are generally used for aesthetic reasons, when the implant is in a place that is visible. Both healing abutments and temporary crowns allow the tissue around the implant to be trained to grow around the final prosthetics tooth.

Fourth appointment
After about two months the soft tissue will heal and be ready to receive the final prosthetic tooth. Post-operational instructions:

1. Following surgery, there will probably be bleeding, controlled by biting down on some gauze.

2. Swelling may be controlled using an ice pack.

3. Gums are generally sore after both surgeries for seven to ten days.

4. During the period immediately following the surgery antibiotics are taken.

Success rate and further considerations:

Overall, the success rate for all implants ranges from 90 to 95%.
It is important to know whether the patient smokes, since smoking increases the rate of failure.
Also, chronic conditions affect healing, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and immunosupression. These are diseases that increase the chance of implant rejection.