Dental Implants – A reason to smile
A beautiful smile does wonders to one’s personality and social stature. A sparkling smile can not only enhance the appearance, but also say a lot about the overall health of the person. In case someone has lost his or her tooth/teeth naturally or otherwise, should no longer feel conscious. Natural looking teeth can easily be put in place of the previous ones by undergoing a simple procedure of teeth augmentation. So anyone who has suffered teeth loss has a reason to smile.
Tooth Implant is an artificial tooth root that a Periodontist places in the jaw of the patient in order to support replacement tooth/ teeth, within the mouth.
A patient who wishes to replace his/ her lost teeth might opt for this procedure. Dental implantation can be done on any individual with overall good oral health. Dental implant is necessary for successful tooth replacement as it has more success rate than the traditional bridge work. In case of traditional bridge work the neighboring teeth plays an important role in providing support to the bridge, which in turn facilitates replacement teeth to be attached. Any patient with overall good oral health can undergo this procedure after consulting their Dentist.
Why should you undergo dental implants?
As we understand that if someone has lost a tooth or several of them then the option they can consider to replace their lost tooth would be, anything among bridge procedure or dentures. You can ask, why should one go for this kind of surgery, which is invasive in nature? The answer lies in the fact that it is next to the natural teeth that one has lost. Since bridging procedure can lead to weakening of the neighboring teeth adjoining teeth must be taken into account for supporting the replacement tooth/ teeth. Denture on the other hand is nothing but functionless appendage. One can hardly feel or look natural by opting for a denture; the loosely placed set of teeth can be extremely uncomfortable and not of much use either. Chewing and biting is uncomfortable when a mouthful of fake teeth are there to be adjusted. Although after undergoing the procedure one might have to be under observation to make sure that no post operative complication. Regular check up would ensure that one does not develop any infection due poor oral hygiene.
What is a root device and how it works in tooth implant?
Teeth implants consist of a root device made up of titanium. The term root from endosseous refers to the device, which has to be placed into the jaw by following a simple surgical procedure. The root device can be made up by pure titanium or other materials such as Ti-6Al-4V, an alloy consisting of titanium, aluminum, and vanadium. The use of alloy has shown better results in terms of fracture resistance, and enhanced tensile strength. Use of zirconia, which is oxidized form of zirconium, looks very similar to natural tooth. The root device is the screw like device, which once placed inside the gum, can facilitate tooth replacement. This procedure remains through life and requires maintenance of oral health, which is similar to that of natural teeth.
How the root device is introduced into the jaw in teeth implants?
Detailed study of the site of the implant is done by the peridontist along with the other dentist. The specific condition of the gum and the overall health of the patient are taken into account. Since a peridontist is a specialist who has considerable experience in this field, he can determine if dental implantation is suitable for someone or not. CT scan is done to guide the surgeon before conducting the surgery, location of the inferior alveolar nerve, and sinus is extremely necessary, as injury to these can lead to severe complications. CT guided surgery is bound to cost more, but is more reliable than commonly accepted procedure. Any damage to the osteoblast (bone cell) is not at all desirable; care is taken while drilling into the jaw. At the edentulous (toothless) jaw site pilot hole is bore by the use of hand held osteotomes. A successive drill with increasing width of osteotomes is done to achieve desirable results. This is done under general or local anesthesia.
When should you go for tooth implant?
The best time to go for this procedure could be immediately after tooth extraction or may be after few week/ months time. But once you are done with the dental implants, you would never feel the loss of natural teeth, both functionally and cosmetically. A smile is too precious and it must be preserved at any cost.
History of dental implants
Earliest example of endosseous implants dates back to Maya Civilization some 1350 years ago. Upon excavation of human remains have suggested that tooth like shell were implant in the jaws of the mandible. After much research it was found that tissue had grown near the site of implantation suggesting that tooth replacement was practiced in the ancient civilization much before the modern medical science came into existence.
In the modern time Swedish Orthopedic surgeon named Dr. Peringvar Branemark did remarkable job in identifying the qualities of titanium in the bone implants. He found that the body would accept titanium and fresh tissue would grow near it thus confirming the property of the metal. This not only meant that any implant in the bone can be successfully done by using this metal or its alloys. Based on his work further research was done in the field of dentistry as well.
Dr. Leonard Linkow is considered the father of modern dental implantation. He has conducted more than 19000 successful implantation surgeries and has authored 12 books and has patented 6 procedures to his name. The work done by him lead to the further development in the current methodology involved in implantation, and his remarkable observation of osseointegration, whereby the titanium screw would successfully get implanted in the jaw bone, lead to the first step towards carrying out tooth replacement surgery.
