Dental implants

What are dental implants?

Anatomically, the tooth consists of the crown and the root.

The crown of the tooth is the part that is above the gum. The root of the tooth is in the maxillary bone.

When a person loses a tooth for some reason, a defect forms in the jaw and a dentist has to choose an adequate replacement of that defect. To solve this problem, the most effective method is implantation. Dental implants consist of two parts: the implant, which is inserted into the jawbone, and the abutment.

The abutment is a structure, which is fixed to the implant. The crown is then fixed to the abutment carrying the prosthetic design or the prosthesis.

Dental implants are inserted into the bone instead of a lost tooth and remain for the next 3-4 months or six months. This time is necessary for the implant and bone tissue healing. This process is called osseointegration. Currently, industrially pure titanium and titanium-aluminum alloy are the main materials used for implants. It is proved that titanium is the only material that has shown biocompatibility in long-term studies and fused with the bone.

It is also is an ideal biocompatible material. Tooth implantation is performed in the dental office under local anesthesia.

The process of implantation

The process of implantation has a surgical and a prosthetic stage. Before starting treatment, a dentist collects the medical and dental history of the patient. It includes x-ray examination, examination of the soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity, bone density estimation, oral hygiene and so on. This information is very important for the preparation of the treatment plan and helps to assess overall health and oral health.

Stages of tooth implantation

Tooth implantation consists of 3 phases.

The first phase is a surgical operation, which involves implant insertion into the jawbone. Surgery is performed in the dental office under local anesthesia. During this operation, an implant bed is formed on the jaw and the implant is screwed in it.

Implants are inserted very carefully without injuring the bone. This intervention is much less traumatic than the removal of wisdom teeth.

After the implant is inserted into the bone, it is fully covered with a mucous membrane and has no contact with the oral cavity. After surgery, there is a healing period of approximately from 3-4 months to six months. During this period, the implant heals in the bone ant this process is called osseointegration.

The second phase of implantation is a microsurgery in the implant area. At this stage, the implant is revealed and the head (healing cap) is screwed over it. The healing cap protrudes into the oral cavity. After a few days, the healing cap is removed and replaced with a titanium abutment. After one to two weeks, the next treatment phase starts. It is the denture manufacture. The third stage is called an orthopedic. At this stage, the crown is made. After installation of the abutment, dentition prints are made. Dentition models are produced based on these prints. Then, the artificial crown is produced based on these models. Its color corresponds to the color of the patient's teeth.

What is osseointegration?

After surgery, the implants remain in the jaw for 3-4 or six months. During this period, the implant heals in the bone and this process is called osseointegration. Osseointegration is a biological phenomenon, a fusion of the implant with the living bone. At this stage, the bone grows again into the implant surface and a good bond is obtained between the implant and the bone. Minimal healing period of the implant is 3 months in the lower jaw and 6 months in the upper jaw. The fact that the lower jawbone structure is denser, so the healing process is fast. In the upper jaw, the bone structure is more porous (due to the presence of numerous airways), so the healing process is slow.

The jaw consists of two layers: cortical (external) layer and spongy (inner) layer. Compact disc surrounds the spongy substance in the central part.

The adequate process of osseointegration and a good fixation between the implant and the bone require a sufficient quantity of the good bone tissue.

Bone density is an important factor for the implant healing.