Dental implants are an excellent and long-lasting solution for tooth loss, but this treatment may seem slightly confusing when you first investigate it. There are three main ways dental implants in Ajax can restore your smile, but it is important to understand how dental implants work.
What Is a Dental Implant?
A dental implant is usually made from medical-grade titanium, which is highly biocompatible and consists of a small screw or post, surgically inserted into the jawbone. Once in your jaw, the post soon becomes fused firmly in place during a process called Osseointegration. We know some people don’t like the thought of having metal in their mouth or have metal sensitivities, which is why we also provide metal-free dental implants in Pickering made from zirconia.
Once fused in the bone, it forms a stable foundation for tooth restoration. The type of restoration recommended by your dental implant dentist in Whitby depends on the number of teeth missing and your requirements. Because the dental implant replaces the entire tooth, including your tooth root, it helps protect the bone around it, preventing resorption that normally occurs after tooth loss in Newcastle.
Replacing a Single Tooth
If you are only missing a single tooth, you can replace it with a single dental implant requiring just a dental implant screw and implant crown. When you first see your dentist, we can assess your suitability for dental implants in Oshawa and perform diagnostic tests, including a cone beam CT scan. These diagnostic tests are used to plan your treatment, and every dental implant is placed using computer-guided surgery.
The implant post is inserted into your jawbone during a short surgical procedure. Often, we can place a temporary crown soon after surgery. The temporary crown remains in place until your implant fuses with your jawbone, at which stage it is replaced with your permanent crown.
Replacing Several Missing Teeth
If you have several missing teeth that were originally side-by-side, these can often be replaced with an implant bridge, a restoration that remains permanently in your mouth. This option means you do not need to restore every missing tooth with a dental implant. Instead, the implant bridge is supported by two crowns at either end that will fit over the dental implants; the replacement tooth or teeth are attached to the implant crowns creating a stable and very strong restoration.
We take tremendous care when creating all dental implant restorations to ensure they look and feel natural, and when you have an implant bridge in Clarington, you will find it easy to bite and chew just about anything you wish. Usually, the bridge is screwed onto the dental implants so our implant dentist can retrieve it for maintenance and cleaning if needed.
Replacing All Your Teeth With an Implant-Supported Denture
People missing an entire arch of teeth and looking for an affordable dental implant solution in Courtice can opt for an implant-supported denture. This removable restoration looks like an ordinary denture but has special attachments on its fitting surface. These clip onto dental implants in the mouth, ensuring the denture remains firmly in place. An implant-supported denture will provide greater biting strength than an ordinary denture and cannot move or rub uncomfortably on the gums. Relatively few dental implants are required to support an implant denture, so treatment is more cost-effective. The implant denture remains in the mouth but can be easily unclipped and removed for regular cleaning and maintenance.
