What is a Dental Implant?

Dental implants are the closest you can get to healthy, natural teeth. They allow you to live the way you want to – confidently eating, smiling, laughing, talking, kissing and enjoying all of your everyday activities without worrying about your teeth.

Think of dental implants as artificial tooth roots, similar in shape to screws. When dental implants are placed in your jawbone, they bond with your natural bone. They become a sturdy base for supporting one or more artificial teeth, called crowns.

Modern dental implants have been used successfully for over 30 years. They are the strongest devices available to support replacement teeth – and even better, they allow these new teeth to feel, look and function naturally.

When performed by a trained and experienced dental implant dentist, dental implant surgery is one of the safest and most predictable procedures in dentistry. Our Chief Dental Surgeon (Honorary) Dr. Jayesh Karoli believes that days of ‘dental Bridge’ are over and Dental Implant is the standard of care in today’s dentistry. And, Dentist On Wheels is the best dental clinic in India to have this procedure for you and your loved ones.

What are the advantages of Dental Implants?

Dental implants can be a smart choice for adults of all ages, whether you were born without a tooth or have had to have teeth removed due to injury, infection, or decay. They can also be an option for adolescents, once facial growth and development have been completed. Generally, this occurs around age 16 for girls and age 18 for boys.

Among the many advantages and many benefits of dental implants, we can mention as the most outstanding the following-

• You’ll look and feel great. Dental implants feel, look, fit and function like healthy, natural teeth. They’re so comfortable you don’t have to think about them. You brush and floss them just like you do your natural teeth – no need to remove them for cleaning. They also help you retain your natural face shape and smile.
• They’re built to last. Dental implants placed at Dentist On Wheels can last many decades. Many other options, including certain types of dental bridges and dentures, may need to be replaced as often as every 5 to 10 years, requiring a more significant investment of time and money.
• You can live life with confidence. Your dental implants will be secure, so they won’t slip or click when you talk, eat or laugh. You’ll also find that your speech is more natural. With dental implants, you’ll have the peace of mind to eat what you love, say what you want to say, be as active as you want and smile broadly.
• They protect facial bone and healthy teeth. Leaving empty spaces in your mouth after losing one or more teeth can lead to health issues such as jawbone deterioration. Dental implants are the only tooth replacement option that actually helps stimulate bone growth and prevent bone loss. Getting dental implants as soon as possible after losing a tooth helps prevent bone loss at the site. Also, dental implants don’t require grinding down adjacent teeth to anchor bridges or attach partial dentures.

The Implant Process Explained Step-by-Step

In regards to the implant process itself, here’s a step-by-step guide you can follow in order to properly go about this dental implant procedure. You need to have your implant surgery approved by our Dental Surgeon at Dentist On Wheels Centre before anything else. Here are the steps that you should expect to happen. In many ways, preparing for the implant takes longer than the dental implant procedure itself.

1. Initial Consultation: You will first have to undergo a consultation with Dentist On Wheels before any work is done. Based on this examination our doctor will determine if you’re a qualified candidate for implant dentistry or not.
2. Comprehensive Examination: Our doctor will have you undergo an exam where he’ll review your dental and medical history. He’ll also create impressions of your gums and teeth (for the sake of creating teeth models) plus take dental x-rays of your jaw, particularly the area where the missing tooth or teeth are.
3. CBCT Scan of the Mouth: There are also cases wherein a computer tomography scan (also known as a CAT or CT scan) of your mouth is required so that we know what we have to work with. It assists our doctor in determining how much jawbone is available for implantation or if bone grafts are called for (particularly those who lack a strong jaw or chin will need bone augmentation).
4. Nerves and Sinuses: The CT scan also assists in locating structures such as sinuses and nerves that should be avoided while doing implant surgery. The last thing you want to happen is to suffer from nerve damage or break your sinuses while attempting to regain the tooth that you’ve lost through restorative means.
5. Bone Grafting: If there’s not enough bone in your jaw to hold an implant according to x-rays or the CT scan, then we can discuss options for bone augmentation or buildup.

As noted in the earlier sections, grafting might be called for in order to ensure there’s enough bone for the post to embed itself in. Otherwise, the dental implant procedure might fail and end up dislodging itself when you apply the regular biting forces of the human mandible to your implant.

What to Expect with Bone Grafting: When it comes to augmenting your jaw, it typically involves taking bone from other parts of your jaw/hip/chin, through a donor, or through artificial bone material (calcium phosphate or hydroxyapatite) and adding it to your jaw so that an implant can anchor itself deep into your mouth like a real tooth root. Processed pig, cow, or human cadaver bone can also be utilized.

What to Expect with Bone Distraction: A bone distraction is different from a bone graft in that it’s a surgical procedure that induces the body to grow more bone at the site where it’s needed the most versus putting bone material there and fusing it with your jaw. It involves using pins and screws to pull apart existing bone, which causes your body to grow more bone to fill in the gaps.

If one of these procedures is needed before you can proceed to the actual dental implant procedure, it will probably take four to twelve months for the bone to be ready for grafting and implantation. Dentist On Wheels is the Best Dental Clinic in India for complex procedures like Bone Grafting.

Traditional Method

The traditional method requires two procedures, with three to six months between each. We at Dentist On Wheels in India sometimes prefer to take extra months are for the sake of allowing the patient to heal first.

Initial Incision: In the first procedure, a small part of your gums are cut where the implant will be placed (the tooth socket that the gum is covering). The cut is necessary in order to gain access to the tooth socket where your missing teeth used to be.

Cutting and Drilling: After the small gum incision has been made, your dentist will then drill right into the bone. This is for the sake of placing the metal implant or post itself into the hole in your bone. After implantation is complete, the incision on the gums is then stitched and then allowed to heal.

Healing Period and Second Procedure: After three to six months of healing has taken place, you can then proceed with the second part of the traditional dental implant procedure. This involves making a new cut to expose the implant. From there, a healing cap or collar is screwed atop the stud.

Healing Cap Removal: The healing cap is called as such because it’s designed to induce healing of the surrounding gum tissue. After a few weeks have passed, the healing cap is then taken off. 

What Next?

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