Are Dental Implants Successful in Replacing Missing Teeth?

Missing teeth are a dental menace as they affect your dental integrity. When you leave the gaps unfilled for an extended period, the surrounding teeth may start to shift. Furthermore, the supporting bone (alveolar) bone begins to deteriorate, which further weakens the teeth. Replacing these teeth is paramount to your dental health and we have several treatments that can be used to achieve the goal. Dental implants in Oak Lawn are one of the treatments that can replace your teeth.

Some people are skeptical about the success of the treatment because of the many steps involved in getting them. But, dental implants are believed to have a 95 percent success rate. Their success and effectiveness are, however, are determined by three things:

• Bone density
• Osseointegration
• Recovery

Before you get dental implants near you, it is important to know what they are and what factors can affect their success.

What are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are posts, usually made of titanium, fixed on the jaw bone. These dental implants are available in different types and our dentist in Oak Lawn, IL, will choose one depending on the location and number of missing teeth.

What Factors Affect the Effectiveness and Success of the Implants?

For your dental implants to be successful, three things factors must be fulfilled:

1. Have enough bone density

Bone loss is one of the common problems with missing teeth. Reports claim that people with missing teeth lose about 12 percent of the supporting bone in the first year and the bone slowly deteriorates as the days go by. This will decrease your bone density and affect the support of the teeth.

Replacing your missing teeth is important, but for the implants to be fixed, you need to have sufficient bone. A dentist near you will examine your jaw bone using an x-ray to check the condition of the supporting bone.

If you have insufficient bone density, the implants cannot anchor properly, and as such a bone graft may be required. The dentist will do bone grafting to stimulate new bone growth to support the implants.

Bone grafting involves placing bone granules from your hip bone or cadaver on the affected jaw bone. It will take several months for the new bone to come in and be ready for the implant surgery.

2. Osseointegration

Osseointegration occurs when the implant fuses to the existing bone It is crucial to the implant treatment for this process to be successful. Failure for the bone and implant to fuse, the body will reject the implant and the treatment will fail.

Before the osseointegration process occurs, implant surgery is done first. The dentist 60453 will make an incision on the gums to access the jaw. He will drill the jaw bone and fix the implant, and stitch back the gums. It takes six to eight months for the implants to recover depending on where they are fixed, upper or lower jaw.

3. Recovery

It takes a couple of weeks for the gums to heal and be ready for the crowns. What you do during the recovery period will determine how successful the treatment will be. You can expect to have gum bleeding and pain after the surgery. The bleeding is moderate and can be managed by biting the gauze pad to control it. The dentist will prescribe pain relievers and antibiotics to relieve the discomfort and prevent infection.

In the first few days, it is important to eat soft foods to avoid hurting the gums. There may be gum swelling, but you can control it using a cold compress.

Good oral hygiene is crucial, but it is recommended to wait for 24 hours before you resume brushing.

A follow-up appointment may be set three weeks after the surgery to examine the implant and gum condition. An abutment (connects the implants and crown) may be placed at this time, but this will depend on the condition of the gums.

Schedule an Appointment

Visit Forrest Tower DDS for more information on the dental implants before and after procedures.