Dental implants are an excellent solution for the rehabilitation of lost teeth.

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are implantable medical devices in areas where we no longer have the natural tooth. Because they are integrated into the maxillary bone, the implants offer stable support for artificial teeth. After we put the implant correctly, it will support a crown.

What are the most common types of implants?

We can identify 2 main types of implants, i.e. titanium or titanium alloy and zirconia or zirconia alloy. However, it is important to emphasize that titanium has been the material of choice in the production of implants. This is because it has a high biocompatibility with the tissues of our organism and extremely favorable mechanical characteristics. Additionally, they present predictable results in the medium and long term.

In what situations are dental implants recommended?

Implants turn out to be the perfect solution for the rehabilitation of areas with one or more missing teeth. Please note that we mention that implants are ideal concerning rehabilitation. However, it has nothing to do with replacing teeth.

The advantages we can observe go through a functional point of view, improving masticatory function and phonetics. Likewise, for the advantage, they guarantee to patients, in terms of social and psychological comfort.

What are the risks or disadvantages that may occur from implant placement?

The implant has no defense mechanisms or immunity such as the natural tooth. This means that it does not have the periodontal ligament which is a set of small fibers that have a damper action.

Therefore, the fact that the implants do not have this ligament, makes that when an inflammation of the peri-implant tissues is installed it can have a larger and faster extension. For this same reason, the design of the crown or crowns must facilitate the daily hygiene made by the patient. In this way, it reduces plaque formation and the risk of inflammation.

What is the failure rate of implants? How can we avoid it?

The failure rate of implant placement is very low. Rather, let’s mention the success rate that is around 90% of cases. Still, we can highlight that to avoid any barrier, there must be constant planning and updating.

Care and maintenance

After the postoperative period, the patient should adopt some simple care, such as:

• Do not eat too hard or hot foods;
• Do not practice some contact sports;
• Avoid intense physical efforts.

The period of implantation integration in the bone is, on average, 12 weeks.

After this period, maintenance care is the general care that all people with or without implants must perform, particularly:

• Brush your teeth at least twice a day for two minutes;
• Use dental floss once a day (preferably at night);
• Visit the dentist every six months.

If you still have any questions about dental implants, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to clarify all your uncertainties and ensure that you will have the best possible service.

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