About Dental Implants to Laymen

This post is meant to provide basic information about dental implants to laymen. People are often found to ask dentists and other medical practitioners among their family or friends about dental science. The curiosity has grown as a result of the growing cases of dental issues. However, the curiosity soon fades behind technical jargons that form considerable portion of the explanation about dentistry and the so-inquisitive people want the conversation to end after being a few minutes through it. However, to know about the fundamentals is always good. So, this post is intended to simplify the information as much as possible for the expansion of knowledge.

The entire discussion is in 2 parts. At first the steps involved and the time required are mentioned and then the procedure of implant is described.

Consultation and examination of gums and jaws is the first step of the process. It is the best time for visitors to discuss about all the concerns, health issues and enquire about cost.

Dental surgery is next in the procedure but is done only after the patient is determined to be fit for it. Like every surgery, dental surgery is done under anaesthesia. Dental implants are anchored into the jaw and gum. Temporary dentures are fitted to let the implant get permanent. It takes 3 to 6 months for the implant to get fused with gum and bone. The fusion is termed Osseo-integration. Once Osseo-integration completes, dental restoration has to be done, which is the 2nd part of explanation.

Fixture, Abutment and Prosthesis are the part of implants. Prosthesis is also called dental restoration. The real implant, i.e., the fixture cannot be seen by anyone. It is a titanium screw that is fixed into jawbone through gum tissues and gets fused with natural bone in a few months. The screws that are fixed onto fixtures along the gum level after the fixture has fused with bone is called Abutment. It is the 3rd part of implant and is fixed to hold Prosthesis. It is the most relevant step for patients as it the Prosthesis is the visible part of implant. There options for the kind of Prosthesis a patient should have. For those who have lost quite a few teeth, fixture should be implanted on either side of jaw before the denture is attached. However, it needs to be taken out to be cleaned and before sleeping.