What is the meaning of dental implant?

A dental implant is manmade replacement in place of the natural teeth which enables a person to have fixed teeth. Dental implants are different from transplants taken from others. What category of dental transplant is suitable for a patient depends on the individual need and condition of the teeth. An x-ray is required to check the number of bones remaining; space available in the mouth .The dentist does a examination before finalizing which type of implant should be done.

Who are the candidates for dental implant?

People who are missing teeth may it be one or all are candidates for an implant. If a person is missing 1 or few teeth then dental implants along with a crown /bridge can be used to replace the missing teeth and these manmade teeth function as good as natural teeth and there is no further loss of bones and decay .If a person is missing all teeth then implant is used to anchor loose denture. In some cases when bones are lost; bones can be regenerated with the technique of bone expansion which further helps in implants.

How much does an implant cost?

The cost can be determined after thorough examination and recording of individual case. Moreover personnel skill of the dentist, location of the clinic and individual requirement determine the cost of an implant.

How much time is required?

Dental implant is a advance procedure hence it takes time of say 4-9 months or even more depending upon the individual case. The dentist does provide temporary teeth during this period and the patient is never without teeth.

Is the treatment painful?

There is a little discomfort at the time of the procedure but patient sedation and anesthesia are used to reduce the discomfort. Most of the patients experience pain for 2-3 days after the implant/surgery. Dentists also give medicines to reduce the pain and avoid any type of discomfort.

Are there any chances of rejection?

The body can reject soft tissue transplants i.e. kidney, lung, heart transplant but there is no rejection to dental implant by the body. There are chances of failure because of factors such as lack of focus on implant/some other condition, misalignment or diseases the patient suffers from. Dental implants use titanium material that is bio compatible i.e. it is compatible with the tissues of the body. Titanium is widely used now days to replace parts of the body.

When can I resume work?

The patient experiences discomfort and swelling on the day of surgery as well a day after the surgery. The patient is advised not to do any strenuous exercise. The decision to resume work depends on an individual.

What side effects one has to face without a dental implant?

When a person looses teeth the bones of the teeth also become weak and after some  time these bones disappear other problems emerge such as:-

The adjacent teeth become week and there is no support for partials, dentures and bridges. These  further results in pain, mobile tissues of the gum, sore spots, painful ridges, lack of retention etc.

The tongue also enlarges as it accommodates the space of missing teeth.

The diet changes and one has to survive on soft food.

Bone loss results in numbness of lower lips and there are chances of jaw fracture.

Bone loss makes the adjacent bones weak which causes falling of nearby teeth.

Hence one should start the treatment at an early stage because the problem becomes more severe if the treatment is delayed.