How Dental Implant Technology Works
Dental implants are composed of three main parts – the post, the abutment, and the crown. After the site of the missing tooth has been cleaned and prepared, the titanium post is placed into the bone. The area is allowed to heal; this gives the bone time to fuse with the post. After fusion and healing have taken place, the dentist will add the abutment to the post. This is a prosthesis that juts up above the post and holds the dental crown. After the abutment is placed onto the post, a temporary dental crown may be affixed to the abutment until a permanent dental crown can be created. The final appointment will involve the permanent crown attachment process. The result is a tooth that looks and feels completely natural!
Patients With Bone Loss in the Jaw Area Benefit From Implant-Supported Dentures
Traditionally, patients who were not good candidates for dental implant surgery because they had lost too much bone from the jaw area had only two choices: undergo bone grafting surgery to boost the bone density of the site, or rely on removable dentures. Now technology has advanced so that Belle Meade Family Dentistry can provide individuals with permanent, natural-looking implant-supported dentures instead.
Implant-supported dentures are added via four titanium implants surgically placed along the gum line by the dentist. A uniquely crafted denture is manufactured to precisely fit the patient’s mouth, and that denture is permanently affixed to the posts. Many people refer to this process as all-on-four teeth, or teeth in a day.
A removable denture with implants can be fabricated that can be taken in and out by the patient. This denture snaps onto the implants placed in mouth. This type of denture is called an implant supported removable overdenture. The number and size of the implants needed for an implant supported removable overdenture is variable and can many times be completed with only two implants in the lower jaw.