top of page

What are dental implants and how do they work?

Dental implants are a type of “screw” made of a titanium alloy, which is placed by a specialist to replace the root of a missing tooth and some other forms of dental rehabilitation. Dental implants are placed in a relatively quick surgery and most patients report very little post-surgical pain, in many cases there is no pain but rather discomfort in the area.


After placing the implants, you have to wait a few months (they vary depending on many variables such as the patient's age, systemic conditions, habits, among others), during these months the implant “unites” to the bone in a process called “ osseointegration”, once the implant(s) are osseointegrated, they can be rehabilitated, either with an individual crown, a total prosthesis, a fixed bridge, or any of the rehabilitation options that are possible thanks to dental implants.


Are we all candidates for placement and rehabilitation with dental implants?

The most direct and simple answer is that no, not all patients are candidates for the placement of dental implants.


There are many factors that can determine this, whether they are systemic conditions that affect the bone such as osteoporosis, or some other disease, the age, the patient's habits (the placement of implants in smoking patients is not recommended, since the percentage of failure in the union of the implant to the bone increases drastically in smoking patients), the quality and quantity of bone where the placement of the implant is required, to determine this, the specialist reviews a study called CT (Computed Axial Tomography), in this study The specialist determines if the patient has the quantity and quality of bone necessary to receive an implant and calculates its measurements, since they vary in each case, even the same patient can have 2 or more implants of different measurements.


Is there a guarantee on dental implant treatments?

Looking at the question from a generalized point of view, no, there is no guarantee of success with implant treatments, just as there is no guarantee of success in any medical-dental treatment, an average of between 5% and 10% of dental implants fail. at some point during treatment.


What are the main causes of failure in dental implant treatments?

The main causes of failure in dental implant treatments are:


  • Poor patient hygiene, which causes periodontal diseases, infections and other types of problems that affect both natural teeth and implants.

  • Smoking has turned out to be one of the biggest causes of dental implant failure.

  • Not following post-surgical instructions after implant placement.

  • Of course, these causes are not the only ones, although if they are the most common, there can be many factors that can lead to the failure of a dental implant.



0 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page