Dental Implants

Dental Implant [1] is a device of biocompatible material(s) placed within or against the mandibular or maxillary bone to provide additional or enhanced support for a prosthesis or tooth.

The primary function of dental implant [2] is to act as an abutment for a prosthetic device, similar to a natural tooth root and crown. The restoring dentist designs and fabricates a prosthesis similar to one supported by a tooth and as such evaluates and treats the dental implant similarly to a natural tooth.

Advantages of Implant Supported Prostheses

Following are the advantages of Implant Supported Prostheses [3]

1. Maintenance of esthetics
2. Maintenance of bone
3. Maintenance of occlusal vertical dimension
4. Proper occlusion
5. Improved psychological health
6. Tooth positioned for esthetics
7. Regained proprioception
8. Maintenance of muscles of mastication and facial expression
9. Improved phonetics
10. Increased retention
11. Increased stability
12. Improved success rate of prostheses
13. Improved prostheses function
14. Increased survival time of restoration

Replacing missing teeth with implants has become an accepted and routinely performed clinical procedure with high predictability. Implantology [4] has proceeded from placement of implants in totally and partially edentulous healed sites to single-tooth replacement, either in healed or immediate post extraction sites.

References

1. Weiss C, Weiss A: Principles and Practice of Implant Dentistry, 1st ed. Mosby, Inc US 2001

2. Misch C: Dental Implant Prosthetics, Mosby Inc St Louis US 2005

3. Dabas V, Dabas U: Introduction to Oral Implantology, 1st ed. AITBS Publishers 2005

4. Babbush C: Dental Implants The Art and Science, WB Saunders 2001

5. Dental Implants Cost