What if you’ve found yourself with a missing out on front tooth? It’s important that you understand your front tooth replacement alternatives.
Dental implant surgery is generally an outpatient surgery performed in stages:
- Your harmed tooth is gotten rid of.
- Your jawbone is prepared for surgery, a procedure that might involve bone grafting.
- After your jawbone heals, your oral surgeon puts the dental implant metal post in your jawbone.
- You go through a recovery duration that may last a number of months.
- Your oral cosmetic surgeon places the abutment, which is an extension of the implant metal post. (In many cases, when the implant is extremely steady, this can be done at the exact same time that the implant is put.).
- After the soft tissue heals, your dental professional will make molds of your teeth and jawbone and later on place the final tooth or teeth.
The whole procedure can take numerous months from start to complete. Much of that time is dedicated to healing and waiting for the development of new bone in your jaw.
Is Tooth Implant Painful?
All the patients that after their Dental Implants have actually been placed have had absolutely no to minimal pain. Any post-operative pain can be successfully managed with Tylenol and or Motrin. It is extremely unusual for a patient to require a Narcotic type medication after placement of a Dental Implant.
When Bone Grafting Is Required during Dental Implants
If your jawbone isn’t really thick enough or is too soft, you might need bone grafting before you can have dental implant surgery. That’s because the effective chewing action of your mouth applies terrific pressure on your bone, and if it can’t support the implant, the surgery likely would stop working. A bone graft can produce a more solid base for the implant.
In bone grafting, a piece of bone is gotten rid of from another part of your jaw or your body– your hip, for instance– and transplanted to your jawbone. Another option is to use artificial bone (bone commercially offered) to put in these areas. It might take a number of months for the transplanted bone to grow enough brand-new bone to support a dental implant.
In many cases, you may need only small bone grafting, which can be done at the very same time as the implant surgery. The condition of your jawbone identifies how you proceed.
Placing the Dental Implant
During surgery to place the dental implant, your oral cosmetic surgeon makes a cut to open your gum and expose the bone. Holes are drilled into the bone where the dental implant metal post will be positioned. Since the post will act as the tooth root, it’s implanted deep into the bone.
At this point, you’ll still have a gap where your tooth is missing out on. A type of partial, temporary denture can be positioned for look, if required. You can remove this denture for cleansing and while you sleep.
Waiting for Bone Growth
As soon as the metal implant post is placed in your jawbone, osseointegration (os-e-o-in-tuh-GRAY-shun) begins. During this procedure, the jawbone becomes and joins with the surface of the dental implant. This procedure, which can take several months, assists offer a solid base for your brand-new synthetic tooth– simply as roots provide for your natural teeth.
Placing the Abutment
When osseointegration is total, you might need extra surgery to position the abutment– the piece where the crown will ultimately attach. This minor surgery is usually done with regional anesthesia in an outpatient setting.
To place the abutment:
- Your oral cosmetic surgeon resumes your gum to expose the dental implant.
- The abutment is connected to the dental implant.
- The gum tissue is then surrounded, however not over, the abutment.
In many cases, the abutment is attached to the dental implant metal post when the post is implanted. That implies you won’t require an extra surgical step. Since the abutment juts past the gumline, nevertheless, it’s visible when you open your mouth– and it will be that way till your dental practitioner finishes the tooth prosthesis. Some people do not like that appearance and prefer to have actually the abutment positioned in a separate procedure.
Choosing Your New Artificial Teeth
After the abutment is put, your gums should heal for a couple of weeks before the synthetic tooth can be connected. As soon as your gums heal, you’ll have more impressions made of your mouth and remaining teeth. These impressions are used to make the crown– your realistic-looking artificial tooth. The crown cannot be positioned till your jawbone is strong enough to support use of the brand-new tooth.
You and your dental specialist can choose artificial teeth that are either removable, set or a mix of both.
- Detachable. This type is similar to a standard removable denture. It contains artificial white teeth surrounded by pink plastic gum. It’s mounted on a metal frame that’s connected to the implant abutment, and it snaps firmly into location. It can be easily removed for repair or everyday cleaning.
- Fixed. In this type, a synthetic tooth is permanently screwed or cemented onto a specific implant abutment. You cannot get rid of the tooth for cleansing or during sleep. If cost isn’t a concern, you can choose to change a number of missing out on teeth this way. Most of the time, each crown is connected to its own dental implant. However, due to the fact that implants are remarkably strong, several teeth can be replaced by one implant if they’re bridged together.
After the Dental Implants Procedure
Whether you have dental implant surgery in one stage or multiple stages, you may experience a few of the common discomforts associated with any type of dental surgery, such as:
- Swelling of your gums and face.
- Bruising of your skin and gums.
- Pain at the implant site.
- Minor bleeding.
If swelling, pain or other problem becomes worse in the days after surgery, contact your oral surgeon. You might require pain medications or antibiotics.
After each stage of surgery, you might have to eat soft foods while the surgical site heals. Usually, your surgeon will use stitches that dissolve on their own. If your stitches aren’t self-dissolving, your doctor removes them.
