Dental Implant
Dental implant (also known as dental implantation) is a major treatment for teeth loss. Titanium implants (teeth posts) are implanted into the alveolar bone as holds. After the titanium is fused with the jawbone, artificial crowns will be inlaid. Today, the success rate of artificial dental implants in 10 years of clinical use has exceeded 90%, proving that it has become a mature and stable therapeutic technology.
Benefits of Dental Implant
- The new teeth have the same strength as other teeth with normal chewing ability
- The crowns look very similar to real teeth
- No need to grind adjacent real teeth for support
- The hassle of removable dentures can be avoided
Who need dental implant?
- Loss of one or more teeth
- Unable or unwilling to wear dentures
- Not suitable for traditional dentures
- Wish to improve speaking or chewing abilities
What is the process of dental implant?
The 3 stages of dental implant:
- The dentist will place implants and install temporary fixed dentures on the surgery day to maintain the appearance
- The implants will slowly fuse with the alveolar bone in about three months. After the bone and gum are healed and stabilized, impressions can be taken to make dentures
- After the dentures are made and properly installed, the patient can regain old appearance and normal biting ability
When is the best time for dental implant?
Generally about 3 months after tooth extraction, when the wounds have recovered and the gum and bone have stabilized. Having dental implant too early may leave gaps between the dentures and the gum, which will affect the appearance of the implant. If dental implant is done too late, the teeth may become out of position, affecting the appearance of the teeth and chewing ability.
Can dental implant be conducted right after tooth extraction?
With the advancement of materials and technology, the success rate of immediate dental implant after tooth extraction has greatly improved under certain conditions such as uninfected implant site and intact bone. This is the most common for patients with front teeth broken due to accidents or sports.
The dentist usually uses minimally invasive methods to extract the teeth, then immediately implant dental implants and install fixed temporary dentures. After 3 to 4 months, when the gum and bone are stabilized, permanent dentures can be installed.
The benefit of this approach is that teeth removal and implant can be performed at the same time in a single surgery. The patient can wear fixed dentures immediately, reducing gum and bone atrophy.
Who is not suitable for dental implant?
Although dental implant has many advantages over other options for treating teeth loss, some people are not suitable for dental implant or need dentists to carefully evaluate the situations before having dental implant. For example:
- People with severe dental atrophy
- People who take osteoporosis drugs regularly
- People who have received electrotherapy in the head and neck
- People with poor wound healing ability (such as severe diabetic)
- Patients with poor coagulation ability or who take anticoagulant drugs
- Patients with poor oral hygiene or periodontal disease and frequent smokers (e.g. smoking 20 cigarettes per day)
Dental Implant Programme
- Single tooth implant
- Restoration of several teeth with implants and bridges
- Support complete removable denture with dental implants
- Computer is used to simulate minimally invasive dental implant surgery to support complete fixed dentures. Using 3D computer scan images to tailor make surgical guides for patients allows dentists to accurately place the implants in the preset positions. With smaller wounds, patients will experience less discomfort and recover more quickly.
Regular Check-ups to Ensure Oral Health
No matter what option you choose to treat your teeth loss, you need regular oral care and check-ups.
- Have regular dental check-ups, have scaling twice a year and let your dentist check the conditions of your real teeth and implants
- Take regular dental X-ray examinations, take periapical X-ray examinations (commonly known as small films) every 2 years to check the dental bone; take panoramic X-ray films (commonly known as large films) every 3 to 5 years to check all teeth
3D Computer Navigation Minimally Invasive Complete Dental Implant
3D computer-navigated minimally invasive dental implant is a relatively new technology. The dentists will first take the patient’s impression and conduct a 3D computer scan to evaluate the patient’s oral conditions. With the aid of a computer programme, the dentist will design a treatment programme suitable for the patient, covering details such as the positions, quantity and depth of the implants.
Then, computer data will be transformed into a tailor-made surgical guide, so the dentist can accurately place the implants into the patient's dental bone according to the guide. Finally, temporary dentures are attached right away.
This approach enhances the safety and accuracy of the surgery, reduces the time required for the surgery and creates smaller wounds, allowing the patient to experience less discomfort and recover more quickly.
