Dental implants today offer many advantages over other conventional treatments or alternatives. Dental implants offer the ability to reconstruct a missing tooth without involving the removal of structure from the neighboring teeth. Often adjacent teeth are compromised and are not recommended for use in a conventional bridge.
Sometimes the missing teeth are in the back of the mouth where a conventional bridge is not possible. Unlike a fixed bridge, a dental implant is a freestanding structure which is not dependent on the integrity of neighboring teeth. Sometimes, in conditions involving multiple missing teeth, it is not possible to restore all the teeth with a conventional fixed bridge. Dental implants however can be used in such a situation.
Many patients’ dental condition requires the use of removable full or partial dentures. Dental implants can serve as a solution in these cases. Implants can act to eliminate the need for a removable denture or prosthesis. In other cases they can be used to profoundly improve the retention of full or partial upper and lower dentures.
Dental implant placement is a surgical procedure. However, the recovery is minimal with patients often going to work the next day. Implants can be placed with both local anesthetic or IV sedation depending on the situation and patients’ preference.
Overall dental implants allow the treatment of a large number of conditions involving one or more missing teeth. Using a minimal procedure, results can be obtained that significantly improve both the aesthetics and function of the patients’ dental condition.