The dental implant is an effective solution when a tooth is missing, but it remains expensive and not reimbursed by Medicare.
The implant is an artificial root offered by different dental services such as GMDG, conventionally made of titanium, which replaces a natural root already extracted or compromised by trauma, infection or periodontal disease
On the other hand, if the root of the tooth, in good condition, is preserved, the dentist will not offer an implant. It must be understood that an implant is not a dental prosthesis, but the anchor point to a fixed prosthesis: a crown or a bridge.
Choose your practitioner well
All dentists and stomatologists can place implants, but it is preferable to favor those who are used to it. Ask your dentist if he has a university degree or training in implantology, and how many implants he places per year.
Teeth must be treated before placing an implant
After a medical examination and the realization of a panoramic (or even a scanner), the dentist determines whether or not he can place implants. Any care of the gums and teeth is then carried out because the mouth must be free of any pathology during the placement of the implants.
How installation of a dental implant carried out?
The installation is carried out in the block or in a room dedicated to this function in the dental office. After practicing local anesthesia, the practitioner incises the gum. With a drill, he drills a small hole in the bone into which he inserts the implant.
For aesthetic or functional reasons, he can put in place a temporary prosthesis. Can he fix a final prosthesis in this same session? Opinions are opposed, some specialists are in favor, others fiercely opposed. Also, if you are not in a hurry, it may be safer to do it in two steps.
After two to six months, the practitioner checks whether the implant has properly integrated into the jaw. If it is firmly anchored, the prosthetic step with impression taking and fitting of the final prosthesis (crown, bridge or removable device) is started.
Can implants replace more than one tooth?
Yes, they can respond to partial or total toothlessness (the entire upper or lower jaw). It is not necessarily a question of placing an implant for each missing tooth.
However, the practitioner must offer you all the possible treatments so that you can choose according to your motivations and your budget. Most of the time the major limitation in the placement of implants is the financial problem.
What are the advantages of an implant compared to a bridge?
It is not the same thing: the implant serves as root; the bridge is a prosthesis. However, placing an implant crown can have an advantage compared to a natural tooth bridge. With a bridge, the dentist is often forced to devitalize and crown the two adjacent teeth of the missing tooth. With the implant, this mutilation of two healthy teeth is avoided.
Are failures frequent?
The failure rate is low: from 2% to 5%. The loss of an implant, because it has poorly integrated into the bone, can have several causes: a local infection has developed, the bone was overheated during drilling or the implant has overloaded because the prosthesis was ill-suited.