TIME TO CONSIDER SAME DAY DENTAL IMPLANTS?
Have a loose tooth? Or one that’s decayed beyond repair? Or one that’s fractured? For teeth that have loosened or damaged beyond repair, there is only one option – extraction of the bad tooth/teeth. Just getting the bad tooth/teeth out is not enough, how to replace the missing tooth is equally important and must be given thought before the extraction.
Replacement of missing teeth can be done by means of removable dentures, fixed bridges or dental implants. Each of these options has their own pros and cons. Dental implants are the most similar to a natural tooth in terms of functionality and are also the most advanced option available today. Before you run to the nearest dental implants clinic, do try and understand more about dental implants procedure and whether you are the right candidate for them.
In dental implant surgery, a new implant is fit in the bone where the lost tooth once stood. Once placed correctly into the jaw bone, dental implants fuse to the bone by a process called osseointegration. Once this is complete, your dentist will fix artificial tooth/teeth on top of the implant(s) to replace the missing tooth/teeth. Your new teeth will look and function exactly like your natural teeth.
Conventional implant treatment involves the extraction of your tooth followed by a wait of 3-4 months for the tooth socket to heal. After this the implant is inserted into the bone and there is another wait of 3 months for osseointegration to occur. Post this, the artificial tooth is fit onto the implant. This timeline may increase in case you need bone augmentation procedures such as bone grafting.
With advances in the field of dental implantology, now the immediate functional loading concept makes it possible to fix a temporary tooth/teeth set onto the implants on the same day as the surgery. There are various factors that are to be considered such as the type of bone available and the time of implant placement since the time of tooth loss. As already discussed earlier, dental implants are placed into the jaw bone; it is important that the jaw bone is healthy and having sufficient length, breadth and width to enable implant placement. The bone can be assessed on a Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) scan. Based on the bone availability, your dentist may advise you on the type of implant that is suitable for you. In same day dental implants, once the implants are placed, your dentist will fix a set of temporary teeth onto the implants so that you do not have to leave the clinic without teeth in your mouth. This set of temporary teeth is necessary to ensure that there are minimal loads during the healing or osseointegration phase. During this phase you will need to strictly adhere to the eating guidelines drawn by the dentist. As a ground rule, till you get the permanent teeth fixed, stick to a soft diet. Once the healing phase is over, a permanent set of artificial teeth is fixed onto the implants. Here onwards, you can gradually start eating harder foods and in a few days get back to your normal diet.
To summarise, healthy individuals who do not use tobacco are usually the best candidates for same day dental implants. Older patients with diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes can also have the treatment done after a more thorough evaluation and provided their disease is under control. In some cases, the dentist may need to suggest you to go for conventional dental implants or options such as dentures or bridges.
To understand more about the options for replacing missing teeth or to know if you are a good candidate for same day dental implants, feel free to contact The Maxfac Clinic on +91 8879745345; we are a dental implants clinic in Mumbai.