Dental implants have opened the door to the XXIst century in Dentistry and oral rehabilitation. They have increased treatment possibilities for patients and improved functional results of their treatments. The patients who had their aesthetics appearance jeopardize as much as their chewing functionality and nutritional ingestion due to the partial or total dental loss, now they can be restored in several aesthetics and normal function degrees. Since the commercial distribution of dental implants, the Oral Implantology field has experienced a fast and progressive development. Many professionals have specialized in this particular field. Their constant research efforts have gratified this field with new concepts and developments almost daily. The efforts in research of many different disciplines like material science, drugs, medicine, biochemistry and other, for the continuous improvement in the field of oral Implantology as well as the equipment used. Those that were considered to be an alternative or experimental treatment in Dentistry, it is now considered the most advanced one.
The quick advances in Oral Implantology have also caused a tremendous impact in the financial world. In the last five years quite a hundred implants companies have been globally created, to capture one part of the market to fill the provision of the increasing demand. Only In the United States, there has been a maintained growing of nearly 20%, annually over the past four years, and this trend continues rising.
Then, what dental implants truly are?
An implant is a device which is surgically placed inside de mandibular or maxilla bone to replace one or more lost teeth.
In our context, Implant is referred to a surgically placed part inside de jaw or/and maxilla bone. Also we referred to it, as an abutment attached to implant. The crown or crowns on the upper part of implants are known as PROSTHESIS.
Implant and crown on the implant
This web site includes some examples of different types of implants, nevertheless, nowadays, the most used implants in Dental community is the root shaped one.
The reason why they are called root shaped implants is because they are too similar to the original shaped of lost teeth. This, in many derivations, represents the most common implants used nowadays.
One of the reasons is their popularity and constant improvement in the simplicity of their use.
The events sequence respect to rehabilitation with implants is divided in two phases:
*Surgical Phase
*Prosthetic phase
The surgical phase includes all about implant placement inside bone and to be prepared for the Prosthetic phase.
X-ray with a fractured tooth
X-ray with implant
Prosthetic phase includes everything necessary to place a crown or crowns on the implants. More detailed descriptions about each phase will be given in the following pages.
Zirconia’s abutment implant
X-ray with the crown on the implant
Crown on the implant
Once the implant is placed into the bone, it needs to remain for a period of some weeks or months, depending upon the case, without being used, to allow bone to grow around it and to be strongly fixed; this process is known as Osseointegration. Under certain indications, prosthesis or crowns can be placed on implants just after being placed.
Osseointegration is a total natural process and usually successful. Sometimes, nevertheless, implants are not integrated (attached to the bone) for some reasons we will not discuss yet.
Once implant is successfully integrated, it is ready for the prosthetic phase. This normally includes an implant(s) impression and to manufacture a prosthesis (crown or crowns), which is then attached in some way to the implant (s).
This is, of course, just a brief view of the general procedure. A more detailed description can be found on the page: How are implants placed and restored.
