Dental implants could provide permanent replacements for your missing teeth without much discomfort and do not require much maintenance that is required by the traditional dentures. Today, dentists have so many options to identify the correct implant treatment depending on a specific patient’s needs. These implants are designed such that it looks and feels like your natural teeth.
Depending on the procedure that is used to fix the dental implant, it is usually categorized into two-stage and single stage. Let us see in brief about the types of dental implants in brief.
Two-stage dental implants:
This type of dental implant involves performing operation to fix the implant into the jaw bone, after which the gum tissue is sealed. In case, an abutment needs to be attached or restored temporarily, a small operation is to be done after it is healed. This is done to expose the implant.
Endosteal Implant: For two-stage dental implant procedures, this type is the most commonly used in dental implants. They are fixed in the jaw bone primarily as an alternative to dentures and bridges. These implants include cylinder types, screw types and bladed types.
Single stage dental implants:
This type of procedure requires to place surgically into the jaw bone, after which the gum tissue is stitched leaving visible the implant.
Subperiosteal Implants: These implants are usually used for the single stage procedures. They are placed on the jaw bone with the implant post exposed to hold restoration. This type is used mainly to hold the dentures for those patients who lack bone height.
Types of dental implant coatings:
Even though most of the dental implants are made of titanium, the implant surface can vary. A porous surface will contribute more for bone contact than the machined titanium surface. Grit-blasted roughed surface, plasma-sprayed titanium surface and hydroxyapatite coating are the other important implant surfaces.
Dental implant connectors:
Depending on the type, the dental implants can be divided. Irrespective of the type of dental implants, the restoration and the abutment are required to attach the head of the implant. There are three connector types for this purpose. They are Internal Hex Connectors, Internal Octagon Connectors and External Hex Connectors. You can do your own research online to get to know more about them.
In the dental implants process, the first step is the evaluation of your candidacy for the dental implants. You need to consult with your dentist and find out whether dental implant is right for you or not. The next step is the dental implant placement. In this step, a thin titanium rod which acts as a tooth root will be attached to the jaw bone in the missing tooth area. It takes several months to completely fuse to the jaw bone. During this period, a temporary crown will be placed. The final step of implant procedure is the implant restoration. In this step, a permanent dental crown is placed in the top of the implant once the implant is properly fused to jaw bone. These are the three step process involved in the dental implant procedure. The implant team will determine which type of procedure is best for you depending on your medical status and situation.
