Dental Implants Provide Superior Stability and Function

The best thing that we can do for patients with dental implants and the thing that the patients need to understand is that implants can replace the tooth itself. We get a lot of cases referred to us, as periodontists, patients with teeth. Well, if we have several teeth in the arch that need to come out, we evaluate and consult with them to see if an implant would be an option for them. Every case is totally different. And some people come in denture-less and we give them options with implants when they have no teeth, especially if they want to stabilize their dentures and or if they have one tooth that is fractured, we can give them options then. If a person comes in and there's been trauma to the mouth whether, say, for example, a car accident or even a sporting accident and the tooth is broken off at the bone level, then the patient is probably given a couple of options by the general dentist. Could they have a root canal, have a post and core built up and a crown done. But if the tooth is broken off severely, then they also have the option of taking that tooth out and placing a dental implant. The thing we worry about with certain teeth that have had endodontic procedures, you worry about the brittleness of the tooth later on. So an implant being metal, you don't have to worry about fracture. So it's a two-part process, usually, with the placement of the implant by the surgeon and then, after a certain healing period, which can be three to five months, some cases less, it's referred out to the general dentist for the restoration of the implant. And then the general dentist finishing up the case with the placement of an abutment and a crown. Just about everybody can be a candidate for implants, but there are certain anatomical structures that we have to look out for. And there are things that we can do, depending on those anatomical structures, to still be able to meet the person's goals. But they have to be evaluated thoroughly. And we do that through pan radiographs and also the CT scans that we do to get us three-dimensional aspects of the bone. Patients are typically pleased by the end results of dental implants. It feels like they've gotten their natural tooth back. It gives them the stability that they've never had and those patients are extremely grateful for the technique.