When a single tooth is missing in the mouth, a single dental implant can be used to restore the gap. These days it is a relatively simple surgical procedure that creates beautiful results of very natural-looking teeth.
There are multiple advantages of selecting dental implants over bridges or dentures, such as bone maintenance or a long-term fixed option. The type of implant chosen is often reflective of the size, position and orientation of the remaining space and which particular tooth is being restored. Our experienced dental practice is here to thoroughly plan your implant treatment.
There is now a wide range of implant systems that are used to cater to a variety of situations. However, before the selection of the dental implant, specific considerations need to be made when choosing the most appropriate implant system for space; these include:
The Quality of Bone
Softer bone often needs certain technical components of the implant design, such as more threading which allows the implant to better anchor into the bone and provides good primary stability. A dense bone may only need a simple design.
The Right Implant for the Right Situation
There are unique design features that include particular surfacing or special shapes, which enable an implant to carry out a specified required function. For example, we can select implants that encourage osseointegration or to be used in softer bone situations.
Achieving Better Initial Integration
There are now a whole host of sizes and shapes of implants that are used in differing conditions to stimulate the primary stability of the implant. This makes the implant “stick” and connects to the bone faster; it can include design features such as aggressive buttress threading down the length of the implant or wider implants.
The Narrowness of the Space
Front teeth leave many narrow spaces compared with back teeth which are generally wider. For this reason, only those single implants should be selected that will have the appropriate dimensions to fit the remaining bone area without encroaching upon critical anatomical structures.
Immediate Loading
In some cases, the implant needs to be placed on the same day as the tooth extraction, this is called immediate loading. The selection of the dental implant is essential if it is to be used for immediate function. This means that the patient has a restored tooth and can use the tooth straight away after the day of surgery.
Aesthetic Requirements
There are now implants that are specifically chosen for cosmetics and have great aesthetic features such as a porcelain emergence profile at the neck of the tooth.
The Amount of Bone already Lost
If there has been a traumatic extraction involving bone loss or if the tooth has been missing for some time, additional bone grafting procedures may be needed. Depending upon the specific requirement, the dentist must consider whether bone grafting is needed or a type of implant can be chosen (which doesn’t require bone grafting). Visit us for dental implants in Bishops Stortford.