The best magazine
Dentists have found a way to complete the entire process in one appointment that lasts about 45 minutes, through the use of immediate load implants.
To adequately understand and appreciate this accomplishment, it's important to know how traditional implants work.
In the past when a patient lost a tooth or had to have it extracted and opted to have a dental implant and a crown put in its place, cosmetic dentists would send the patient to an oral surgeon to have a dental implant permanently placed into the jaw bone.
This implant serves as an anchor.
Dental implants are made of titanium and they integrate themselves into the jawbone through a process called "osseointegration,".
The osseointegration process can take up to six months to complete.
Once that happens, a follow-up procedure is required to expose the top of the implant so a post can be attached to it.
This post serves as the support for the crown, which ultimately replaces the missing tooth.
Although the work of oral surgeons have been always valued, but through the years, it has been reported that there sometimes would be a disconnect between the aesthetic goals for patients and the work provided by some oral surgeons.
The oral surgeon's goal is to place the implant, but they don't have the big picture in mind, and they don't always place the implant in an ideal location or at an ideal angle.
This creates a situation where cosmetic dentists would not be able to create the best aesthetics as they could if they had done the procedure themselves.
" The key difference between immediate load and traditional implants is the shape of the implant.
A traditional implant looks like a screw.
The angles and thread design of immediate load implants enable them to withstand pressure immediately without having to wait for the bone to heal around it.
And the patient doesn't have to endure six months of having a space in their mouth.
Immediate load implants still integrate, as the bone heals around them and makes them stronger.
Good Candidates for Immediate Load Implants Factors such as where the implant is needed and how recently the natural tooth was removed play a key role in determining whether a patient is a good candidate for immediate load dental implants.
Having the luxury of planning ahead creates an ideal situation.
For example, if a patient has a front tooth that is not healthy, dentist could extract the tooth and put in an implant and a crown in all in the same appointment.
The next best scenario would be a patient who lost a tooth or had it extracted some time ago and the bone has had time to heal.
However, if a patient had a tooth extracted two weeks ago and now that area has begun healing, he has to wait for the area to heal completely before placing an immediate load implant.
Source: ...