Our teeth can take on a lot of pressure and chew throughout our lives. However, you may end up losing some teeth, whether it’s from decay due to lack of care, breaking off due to accidents, or becoming loose due to poor gum health.
You can get dental implants to fill in the missing spots, have a confident smile, and prevent your gums from getting infected. They have their set of advantages and risks, just like every other replacement surgery.
This article discusses the risks and benefits you should know if you’re planning to get dental implants and when you really need them.
What is a Dental Implant Surgery?
Dental implant surgery is the process of filling in the missing teeth by implanting artificial teeth. These teeth look a lot like our natural teeth and are placed in the empty spots of our jaw using screws and fixtures.
These artificial teeth, commonly known as dental implants, are better and more long-lasting alternatives to dentures. Since these implants use screws as the root, the artificial teeth are more secure to the gum, whereas bridgework doesn’t have any dental root, making it feel unstable and uncomfortable.
What Are the Benefits of Dental Implants?
Compared to any other tooth replacement or filling procedure, dental implants offer an array of benefits. You can look forward to the following benefits if you are considering getting dental implants soon.
1. Dental Implants Last a Long Time
Since dental implants are placed inside the gums with an abutment, a screw, and a fixture, they set the teeth in place stronger than other forms of dentures. This root-like nature makes it a comfortable option as the gum naturally fuses with the screw after a certain period and secures it in place.
Your dentist should be an expert in cosmetic dentistry to match the implant size perfectly with your jaws and teeth. You only need to change the crown when there’s surface damage or any other issue.
If you care for it properly, your dental implants will last you a lifetime. As long as you maintain the basics of oral hygiene, such as brushing regularly and using a mouthwash – your dental implants is ought to have better durability. However, you may need to talk to your Cosmetic Dentistry in London before you think about flossing.
2. They Mimic Your Natural Teeth
Dental implants are built with materials that will totally look like your natural teeth once they’re cured. A dentist specialized in cosmetic dentistry will be able to match the natural shade of your teeth and measure the depth of the roots.
Because of how the implant screw mimics the root, and the gum heals onto it, you can chew with it comfortably, brush it like you usually do, and do any other oral activity without the fear of the tooth falling out. The tooth will also need to match the dimensions of the implant with the set of teeth surrounding it so that it fits you perfectly.
This way, you won’t feel uncomfortable with it, can go back to your daily activities once healed, and more importantly resume eating feel-good food items of your choice. A well-healed dental implant will not have any sensitivity, making you forget that you even had an implant.
3. Lower Risks of Gum Diseases
When you have a tooth missing, whether it’s from a tooth extraction or from decay, your gum is exposed to potential bacterial infections. You can’t fix it with dentures as these don’t get deep into the roots to fill in the gaps.
However, with dental implants, you’ll be filling the exposed gum with the titanium screw, giving it little room to breed bacteria. Your dentist will prescribe you antibiotic courses after the implantation procedure to stop any infection from developing.
Once your gum has healed onto the implant fixture, there won’t be any chance for bacteria to breed in that site, lowering the risks of developing gum and teeth diseases significantly. Besides, you’ll barely have decay on the crown like you would’ve developed on your natural tooth.
4. Replace as Many Teeth as Needed
Let’s say you have a few teeth missing in one place, the good news is that you don’t need a dental implant for each missing tooth unless necessary, especially in your lower jaw. Two implants on either end of the missing series will be enough to secure a denture in place, as they’re sturdier than our natural teeth.
However, if your teeth are missing from random spots, you need dental implants in all of them. Whether the dentist can carry out the surgery all at once or just one missing tooth at a time depends on how much your jawbone will be able to handle.
What Risks Do Dental Implants Possess?
However, dental implants possess a significant amount of risks, which will ensure that you have a successful implantation. These will also prepare you for any accidents, such as fractures and perforations. The following sections will discuss some of these major risk factors.
1. You Need Surgery for the Placements
You’ll need surgery for every tooth implantation that you get. Besides, how well the surgery will go depends upon the quality of your bones and how well you heal. The quality of the surgery also depends on your dentist’s expertise, especially in cosmetic dentistry and dental surgery.
Besides, the process of surgery can be time-consuming. You need multiple sessions to determine the dimensions and quality of your teeth, gums, and jaws. These will be used to build before and after models and prepare the implants for you properly.
2. You May Need Bone Grafting
Your jaws exert pressure every time you bite and chew something, which may increase significantly when implants are fitted. They won’t be able to support teeth implants if your jaws are not thick enough or are delicate.
If you must do the implantation surgery, but your jaws appear not strong enough to provide enough support, your dentist will suggest a bone graft surgery. Bone grafting creates a strong base for the teeth implants. Upon carrying out specific tests, your dentist may take bone tissue from another part of your body for the grafting or can use a material with similar or more density to human bones.
Your jaws may take much longer to heal, depending on the amount of grafting on your jaw. And if you decide not to do the grafting even after your dentist’s recommendation, you’ll face issues in the future, such as decaying bone surrounding the implant.
1. Dental Implants Take a Long Time to Heal
The entire healing time of your dental implants will depend on how strong your jaws and immune system are. If you had to get jaw grafting, you’d need longer healing time than usual.
Sometimes, dentists give some antibiotics and other supplements to support faster healing before the procedure starts. They do this to ensure that you don’t get any infection before the procedures, which may otherwise delay everything.
After finishing the procedures, your gums need time to grow and heal properly and attach to the dental fixtures. Depending on how well your tissues are growing, this may take as long as eighteen months. During this time, you need to take a lot of care, move carefully even with your stretches, and be cautious about eating anything.
2. Risk of Perforations and Fractures
Accidents can happen even with expert cosmetic dental surgeons. One of the steps to place the implants securely is drilling the gums. The dentist can accidentally end up drilling into the main blood vessel of the jaw, cutting off blood and oxygen supply to all the teeth and killing the gum tissue.
Although most dental implants are made from titanium, the slight presence of impurities can weaken this strong metal. You may face an unwanted fracture inside the gum, which can get further inside and damage the jaw.
These accidents can create further complications, sometimes rotting the gums, and weakening all the teeth.
3. The Process is Very Costly
The entire procedure is very costly, from building the dental implants to the surgical procedures to the healing period. Each implant may require thousands of dollars. Imagine how much it’ll cost you if you choose to get a few teeth implants.
What makes this even more challenging is that your dental insurance most likely won’t cover the entire cost. You can consult the insurance company about which procedures or parts of the fixture they’ll support. However, full insurance support for dental surgical procedures is very unlikely.
4. You’ll Need to Replace Your Restorations
Although chances are low, your teeth implants can get damaged from chewing something tough or just years of usage. The crown may also come out loose.
In these cases, you’ll need to get the crowns replaced, and they can be costly. It may not be much of an issue if your dental insurance covers the cost of placing and replacing dental crowns.
When Do You Need Dental Implants?
Dental implants can allow you to smile confidently again and can help you improve your entire oral structure, from the position of the lips to the structure of your cheeks. You may consider having dental implants for the following reasons:
- You’re missing a few teeth, whether it’s due to an accident or an infection in your gums;
- You have decaying teeth, which can also carry the risk of infecting your gums;
- You have broken teeth on the front of your jaws, due to which you hesitate to smile openly.
Final Thoughts
Dental implants can be expensive, can take a very long time to heal, and require extensive care during the entire process. They can be risky, just like any other surgical procedure. However, the ultimate benefits and the final outcome of the implantation procedure make taking the risk worthwhile.
With a reliable cosmetic dentist’s expertise in carrying out cosmetic dental procedures, you’ll get your desired results with all the risks and benefits of dental implantation.
