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Implant Dentistry for Improved Prosthetic Fit

You folks in San Antonio will be pleased to learn that your city has a University of Texas School of Dentistry with an extensive department of Prosthodontics. The place where future dentists learn all the necessaries of dental implants.

Dental implants are artificial tooth root replacements used to anchor your new replacement teeth to your jaw. It's been found that dental implants work best in the front lower jaw, but can be placed in other areas of your mouth. Your dentist will know best and suggest what's right for you. Using a dental implant can be very successful with up to ninety to ninety five percent successful integration of the implant. Integration is the growth of bone around and onto the titanium implant. The most widely used implant is the osseointegrated implant. There are a few other kinds of dental implants called, subperiosteal implants, and a plate form implant.

Before you receive your implant you will undergo a pre-procedural evaluation to determine if you are a candidate for dental implants. The pretreatment evaluation involves four office visits with the following specialists; prosthedontist, general dentist, oral surgeon, or maxillofacial surgeon or periodontist and frequently a radiologist. This team of dental superheroes will work together to give you the best possible dental implant for your time and money. Often a special Computer Aided Tomography Scan (dentascan) of your head will be made to aid the surgical team in planning the position and length of your dental implant.

Osseointegrated implants are typically placed via a pilot hole which is drilled into the jaw bone and is then widened with progressively larger drills. The implant is then screwed into place. It has a roughened surface to encourage bone to grow onto it. The gums are sutured over the implant. It takes between three and four months for the bone to grow back and get a good grip on the implant in the lower jaw and between six and nine months in the upper jaw.

After the healing time the dental implant is uncovered and a temporary crown is placed on the implant, which allows the gums to grow in the proper scalloped shape, after this happens a permanent crown, your new tooth, is placed on the implant.

A dental implant does require a lot of healing time and several visits to the dentist initially, but they are more stable than dentures and removable bridges. They look very natural, and match well with the rest of your teeth. The dental implant itself is permanent and you should never need to have a new one inserted if the implant takes successfully. The crown on the other hand will need to be replaced every ten to fifteen years. This is a simple procedure that can be accomplished by a quick visit to the dentist.

Since a dental implant requires so much time and involves drilling into the jawbone you should take the time to look around San Antonio or the neck of the woods you live in for an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and periodontists that you are comfortable with and who has a good reputation with previous patients in the area.