How is the dental implant procedure performed?

For those people who are faced with the problem of destruction and loss of teeth as a result of improper treatment of oral diseases, injuries or any other reasons, dentists offer various ways to solve this problem by installing removable or fixed dentures. The most popular and effective of them is the installation of dental implants in the patient's mouth.

Dental implantation is a reliable and durable way to replace the missing elements of the human dentition. Inserting a dental implant means getting a prosthesis that will eventually become an integral part of your body, and the replacement of the crown installed on it will be needed no earlier than in 25-35 years.

Many dentists today offer dental implant services to patients, including this can be done in the network of dental clinics "LeaderStom". But the procedure of dental implantation has its own characteristics and contraindications. Therefore, before deciding to carry it out, it is useful for the patient to find out what exactly a tooth implant is, in what cases it is possible to install such a permanent prosthesis in the human oral cavity, how exactly the dental implant is implanted into the patient's bone tissue and what is the rehabilitation period after operation.

What is a dental implant?

There are many varieties of dental implants, which differ in shape and composition of materials. The choice of a tooth-replacing structure, which will be subsequently installed in the patient's mouth, depends on the thickness and characteristics of the human bone tissue. And a specific model of a dental implant is selected in accordance with the necessary requirements in this particular case, the recommendations of the doctor and the financial capabilities of the patient.

If a person has bone tissue of the required thickness, in most cases, root-shaped implants are installed in the patient's mouth. They are either screw or cylindrical structures. The installation of screw implants is most often used to replace missing teeth in the human oral cavity. In their shape, they resemble an ordinary threaded screw, the diameter of which narrows towards the base.

Consider the structure of a fixed prosthesis based on a root-shaped implant:

• Dental implant. It is a rod that is implanted into the bone tissue of the human jaw. In the future, it performs the functions of the root of the tooth. The implant is made from either titanium or zirconium dioxide. The installation of a zirconium implant is more expensive, since this material has a snow-white color and does not shine through the crown, as a result of which the patient's tooth prosthesis looks natural and aesthetically pleasing.
• Abutment. A metal part of a rounded shape, which is installed on a human tooth implant. The abutment has a larger diameter than the titanium rod itself, fixed in the patient's mouth. This design is an intermediate element that acts as a connection between the implant and the crown of an artificial tooth in the human mouth. It is also made from either titanium or zirconia.
• Crown. The crown is a removable part of the implant structure, which can be replaced if necessary. It is made of cermet, pressed ceramic or zirconium dioxide. According to its composition, the crown on a dental implant is no different from the one that is fixed on a natural human tooth, the difference is only in the method of installation.

Is it always possible to install a dental implant?

Dental implantation involves surgical intervention in the human body, which occurs in the oral cavity. Unfortunately, it will not work in any other way to insert a dental implant into the patient's bone tissue. But do not think that the procedure for installing a dental implant is too dangerous, painful and traumatic. Even in the most difficult cases, this is not the case. But dental implantation is an operation, and any operation is associated with risks and has a number of contraindications for the patient.

• Diseases of the human circulatory system (for example, blood clotting disorders).
• Tumors in the human body that are malignant in nature.
• Diabetes mellitus is also a contraindication to implant placement.
• Heart diseases that are in the acute stage.
• Implants cannot be installed in diseases of the human connective tissue.
• In the case of inflammatory diseases of the patient's oral cavity (stomatitis, gingivitis, etc.), it is better to postpone the implantation procedure and insert the implant after the person has undergone a course of appropriate treatment.

In addition to absolute contraindications, there are also relative contraindications to the installation of implants in the human oral cavity:

• Poor oral hygiene of the patient.
• Pregnancy.
• bite pathology.
• The presence of a large number of carious teeth in the human mouth.
• Bad habits.

Installing dental implants in patients with such contraindications in most cases is dangerous to health, since there is a serious risk of complications or an unpredictable adverse outcome of the implantation operation. In a situation with an abnormal bite or diseases of the human connective tissue, it is impossible to insert a dental implant for a patient for technical reasons.

Such a procedure as the installation of implants in the human mouth requires a serious preliminary examination of the patient and careful preparation. This is necessary in order to exclude possible contraindications, reduce the risk of complications after implantation of teeth in the oral cavity, develop an optimal plan of action in a particular situation and select the appropriate model of a dental implant.

Here is what each patient needs to do before inserting a dental implant:

1. Sign up for a consultation with an implantologist, where the doctor will examine the human oral cavity. If at this stage the patient has no contraindications to the installation of structures such as dental implants, then the doctor prescribes further examinations of the patient's oral cavity. The most informative of them is computed tomography of one or two jaws.
2. The patient should also undergo a general examination of the body to identify diseases that prevent the installation of dental implants in the mouth. At a minimum, a person will have to pass a clinical blood test and a urine test.
3. If, during examination by a dentist, foci of inflammation in the form of carious teeth or mucosal diseases were found in the patient’s mouth, then before installing dental implants, they must be eliminated, i.e., sanitize the human oral cavity.
4. Based on the results of an X-ray examination of the patient's dental and jaw system, at a secondary consultation, the doctor will be able to determine the amount and condition of a person's bone tissue. Depending on this, the implantologist will select the appropriate type of tooth replacement structure and draw up a plan for the operation to install dental implants. In case of insufficient amount of bone tissue in the human mouth, procedures will be required that will allow it to grow. The doctor may also offer the patient the installation of a lamellar or subperiosteal dental implant, which is fixed not in the bone, but in the human periosteum.
5. During the consultation, the implantologist evaluates all aspects of the position of the future implant structure in the patient's mouth. He draws attention to how the implant will be located relative to the rest of the teeth or tooth replacement structures, regarding the human maxillary sinuses.
6. The doctor without fail acquaints the patient with information about the operation to install dental implants and about what restrictions await a person in the rehabilitation period after it. The implantologist prepares the patient for dental implant care.
7. If all stages of preparation for dental implantation were successfully completed by the patient, then the clinic concludes an agreement with him on the provision of services. In the network of dental clinics "LeaderStom" it is possible to install high-quality dental implants of any kind at an attractive price. Therefore, if you would like to insert an implant in place of a lost tooth, then you can contact us with full confidence.

How dental implantation works: the main stages

When the preliminary stage of preparation for the procedure for installing the patient's tooth implant is completed, the doctor sets the date and time for the operation. To insert a dental implant into the tissues of the human jaw, the doctor needs to perform a series of manipulations.

Installation of dental implants in the human mouth, the course of the operation:

1. The area of ​​the patient's mouth where the dental implant will be installed is anesthetized with local anesthetics.
2. The implantologist makes an incision in the area where it is planned to insert the implant in place of a tooth lost by a person. For these purposes, both a scalpel and a laser can be used. Laser implantation has a number of advantages over standard surgical intervention in the patient's oral cavity in order to install a dental implant: the speed and bloodlessness of the operation, the disinfecting effect of the laser and, as a result, the reduction in the risk of complications after dental implantation.
3. A root-shaped tooth implant is screwed into an incision of a strictly defined depth. A titanium plug is placed on the implant.
4. The wound is sutured.
5. After 1-3 weeks, when the patient's post-implantation wound has healed, the doctor removes the stitches.
6. In the next 3-6 months, the tooth implant takes root in the human mouth, after which the titanium plug is removed and the gum shaper is installed.
7. At the next stage, casts are taken from the patient's jaw, according to which a permanent crown is made.
8. Next, this crown is fixed on the dental implant in the patient's mouth.

Possible options for dental implant surgery

In the previous section, we gave a general introduction to how the dental implant procedure works. But depending on the situation, the installation of implants in the patient's oral cavity can be performed both simultaneously and in two stages.

Consider the features of each of the methods:

Single Implantation. This procedure assumes that in one visit the patient is implanted with a tooth implant and an abutment is installed on it. This method avoids a second surgical intervention, but the temporary crown (which is also immediately fixed to the abutment in the patient's mouth) places a strong load on the dental implant. This can lead to inflammation, loosening and loss of the structure.

A two-stage procedure for placing dental implants in the patient's mouth. In fact, its course was described in the previous section. In this case, after the installation of the dental implant, the human gum is sutured. Only after 3-6 months, a second surgical intervention is performed and its shaper is installed (at the site of the implant in the patient's mouth). After 2-3 weeks, the tooth crown is fixed on the gum shaper.

What is bone augmentation during implantation?

The course of the procedure for implanting dental implants largely depends on the thickness of the patient's bone tissue. Insufficient bone thickness may be due to the structural features of the human body or the long absence of teeth in the patient's mouth that he would like to replace. In order to install a root-shaped implant, in such a situation, it is necessary to build up bone tissue.

What is this procedure? After local anesthesia, the implantologist makes an incision at the site of the intended installation of a dental implant in the person's mouth. Next, a bone-replacing material is introduced into this area.
Installation of the implant is possible not earlier than 6 months after the procedure for increasing the patient's bone tissue was performed.

Sinus lifting as a stage of dental implantation

Sinus lift is an additional procedure that may be required when implanting human teeth. It consists in lifting the bottom of the maxillary sinus of the patient. Its mechanism is similar to the method of performing a bone augmentation operation. Only in this situation, the bone substitute material is introduced in order to prevent the dental implant from piercing the bottom of the maxillary sinus during installation. Such a situation must be prevented, since the presence of a titanium rod in the air sinus of the human body with a high degree of probability will lead to an inflammatory process.

The sinus lift procedure is recommended for those patients whose maxillary sinuses are located low, so that the roots of the teeth can partially or completely sink into them. The gap of bone tissue between the bottom of the maxillary sinus and the height of the implant should be at least 7-10 millimeters.

Conclusion

After reviewing the sections of this article, one could notice that implantation of teeth in the human mouth is a multi-stage procedure that has various nuances and options. The patient can get an idea of ​​how the dental implant will be installed only after consulting with a specialist in the dental clinic and conducting appropriate studies.

It is very important to seriously prepare for dental implant surgery. It is not only the moral and informational preparation of a person, but also the choice of an appropriate clinic and a competent doctor. This can largely affect the course of the operation and the further result of the procedure. Dentistry "LeaderStom" offers the services of experienced and competent implantologists who will install the implant in the patient's mouth in strict accordance with the technology, as well as perform other manipulations necessary to achieve a successful result.