Dental implants are made of titanium, one of the most bio-compatible materials on the market, which means even if you have a metal allergy you are still likely to be an excellent candidate for implants. The implant is designed to function as the root of a tooth, meaning it is placed entirely in the jawbone, just as your tooth’s natural root is. The top portion of the implant can be a single tooth, a part of a bridge helping to replace multiple teeth, or a component designed to improve a denture or partial denture. If you are among the rare patients who are allergic to titanium, we can discuss zirconia implants as an alternative.

Traditionally, if missing a tooth, the dentist would make a bridge. To fabricate a bridge, the neighboring tooth on either side of the space needs to be ground down to allow for a 3-unit bridge (3 crowns fused together that rest on the two teeth).

If the surrounding teeth did not need crowns then this process removes a major portion of healthy tooth unnecessarily. Bridges set those teeth up for difficulties in the future, such as need for a root canal, development of cavities in hard to fix areas (you can’t floss between the teeth when fused together), and fracture (we’re asking two teeth to do the work of three, and the supporting teeth have been whittled down).

Individual implants mimic a natural tooth better than any other option in dentistry. And unlike bridges, partials, or dentures, the strength of implant biting is often stronger than a natural tooth.

Although bridges have been successfully used in dentistry for hundreds of years, they generally shorten the lifespan of the teeth that support them and often need to be replaced multiple times over the years. Over the last three decades implants have changed and improved greatly to be very predictable restorations. Because they are attached to a human body nothing can be guaranteed, but we anticipate implants that are well maintained will last many decades, and hopefully for life.

Without stimulation, our bone atrophies and shrinks away. When a tooth is removed, the bone that used to support that tooth will resorb over time, creating defects or dents, changes in face shape, and collapse of the cheeks and lips to make the patient appear older than they are.

When implants are placed, the forces from chewing are transmitted through the restoration into the bone. These forces stimulate the bone so that it maintains density and volume to support the implant, just as the bone surrounding natural teeth does. Also, our teeth prefer to have partners: if a tooth is removed, the opposing tooth will often grow out of the bone because there is no contact. Teeth will also tip or move forward into areas were teeth are missing which can alter and disrupt proper biting.

The most common image of a dental implant is one supporting a single crown, but they can be used in a variety of indications. Implants placed in multiples are able to support bridges to maximize the number of teeth replaced with a smaller number of implants.

When a patient has lost bone, four or more implants can be placed to support up to a full arch prosthesis that replaces teeth and the bone that used to support them.

Partial and complete denture patients benefit greatly from implants, as snaps can be placed on top of the implants instead of crowns and bridges. These snaps help the denture fasten in place and provide a major improvement in stability, comfort, chewing forces, and phonetics.

A set of complete dentures can only provide about 25% of the chewing forces that a mouth of healthy teeth can. By adding in just two implants at the lower canine positions, the patient improves to about 60% of their previous chewing ability. With every additional implant those forces increase, and the dentures can be designed to be smaller and less cumbersome which also improves taste, comfort, and aesthetics.

The top portion of the implant can be changed or updated throughout the patient’s life. If an implant was first placed to replace a single missing tooth, it can be swapped out to help support a bridge if nearby teeth are later extracted. If many or all of a patient’s teeth end up being removed, the crown or bridge can be changed to a snap to help support a partial or complete denture. This ability to modify an implant helps the patient to continue to benefit from the implant as they age and indications change.

The answer varies depending on the patient’s individual scenario. We can provide a more qualified answer during the initial consultation. Bone healing takes roughly 3-6 months depending on a number of factors: age, gender, size of tooth, if infection was present, health history, etc.

From the day an implant is placed to the day a tooth can be attached is usually around 4 months. There are plenty of instances where a tooth or arch full of teeth is attached to implants the very same day the implants are placed. For individual teeth this is more common in the anterior portion of the mouth where the biting forces are weaker and it is safer for the implant. If a tooth needs to be extracted prior to implant placement, that bone often needs to heal for 3-4 months before it is strong enough to support an implant. In these cases, the full timeline in many patients who need a tooth extracted is 8-10 months. Again, this varies greatly depending on the scenario. CT scans, intraoral exams, and bite assessments allow us to develop a timeline specific to each patient during their consultation.