A Dental implant is also known as endosseous implant or fixture is a dental procedure that anchors (small screw) to the jawbone to support a dental prosthesis such as a crown, bridge or denture. The small screw acts as a replacement tooth root. Dental implants are often used to retain artificial teeth, facial prosthetics or to act as anchor points for orthodontics. This procedure is a great way to correct a missing tooth. It can be for cosmetic reasons or because it affects your speech or chewing. When you have a missing tooth it can also create bone loss around the area of the missing tooth. If you lose your tooth by accident or disease there is a way to restore your smile. Dental implants are choice preferred by many people to eliminate the hassle of dentures, partial dentures and sometimes a choice for people that do not want to have to remove partial structure for a bridge. You can either have a single implant or several implants and also have implants put in to support a full set of dentures.
Dental Implants
A natural tooth has two parts the crown, which is the visible part that is covered with white enamel and the root is the second part. The root supports the crown and extends to the jawbone. Dental implant is a procedure using prosthetic replacement for a missing tooth. The implant is a post made of titanium that is attached to the jawbone as an anchor for a replacement tooth. Titanium has the unique property of fusing directly to the jawbone. This biological process is called osseointegration and creates firm support for the new man-made teeth without causing a foreign body reaction.
There are different forms of implants widely used in dentistry. A single implant is a stand-alone treatment for an individual tooth. You do not have to treat the tooth next to it. A fixed implant that supports a bridge is a multiple tooth dental prosthesis. The bridge will usually connect to more than one implant and may also connect to teeth as anchor points. A removable implant is what supports dentures. This is a type of dental prosthetic that is not permanently fixed. You can remove the dentures by disconnecting it from the implant abutments.
The support and firm structure of dental implants creates a comfortable more natural feeling. Dental implants are a good value because they can last a lifetime with good care.