Dental implants are a simple medical procedure, performed under local anesthesia by a dental implant specialist, to replace one or more missing teeth, while preserving nearby healthy teeth. The first operation, the dental surgeon cuts the gums where the implant is placed, the latter is screwed into the root of the tooth, and after a few months of recovery, the second operation consists of placing an artificial tooth, a crown, a bridge or a prosthesis, and dental implants have proven effective and not harmful it is compared to other teeth, its age and the quality of the aesthetic result, and the price of dental surgery for each implant varies according to the number of teeth to be replaced, a transparent quotation will be provided to you before the treatment.
What are dental implants
A dental implant is a device that fills a hole in a tooth when a tooth is missing. The benefits of implant placement are numerous: in addition to restoring normal chewing, the patient generally finds the pleasure of smiling with all of his teeth. Placement of this implant requires a minimally invasive procedure that does not involve any major risks. Dental specialists in dental implants and cosmetic dentistry offer the best guarantees of safety and performance, thanks to extremely strict hygiene procedures and modern technologies.
Dental implants are used to replace one or more missing teeth, while preserving nearby healthy teeth. This is the artificial root that will allow the repair of a dental crown or prosthesis, so placing the implant is not an end in itself, as it must be completed by a prosthesis that will cover it, that is the prosthesis that will take the shape of the real tooth, in fact, this is evidenced by the implant that comes in the form of a screw generally made of titanium or zirconia, the quality of this device usually allows the patient not to have to change the implant once it is placed.
Dental implants are for people who have lost one or more teeth after an extraction or extraction, after a cavity for example, the surgery that allows placement of implants can be performed on individuals who have finished growing the bones of the upper jaw, which occurs between 17 and 18 years, there is no age limit certain to have the operation, the whole thing is to be in good general health.
How is dental implant surgery?
Prior to any surgery, the practitioner assesses the patient’s oral health so that he can offer the most appropriate solution for him, thus the practitioner performs a clinical examination often supplemented with dental x-rays. To provide you with high quality services, all our centers are equipped with the latest imaging equipment.
Dental implants is a simple medical procedure, which is performed under local anesthesia by a dental implant specialist. It takes place in two stages. During the first operation, the dental surgeon cuts the gums where the implant will be placed in order to reach the alveolar bone.
Then the implant is screwed into the root of the tooth. In most cases, the pain after the operation is very mild or non-existent. An analgesic and anti-inflammatory may be prescribed if necessary. After a few months of waiting necessary for healing, the second operation consists of placing an artificial tooth, crown or bridge or prosthesis, the following video will allow you to visualize with the help of a few simple pictures the process of placing the implant and its prosthesis.
What are the advantages of dental implants?
Dental implants have proven many indisputable advantages:
Its effectiveness
• Do not harm them with other teeth
• Their age
• The quality of the final presentation.
Dental implants are also known for their long life and do not usually need to be replaced. Placing an implant and then a crown makes it possible to spare adjacent potentially healthy teeth, unlike a bridge that affects them.
What is the cost of dental implants?
The price of dental surgery for each implant varies depending on the number of teeth to be replaced, the materials used and the type of implant, a transparent estimate will be given to you before any treatment is performed. Placing dental implants as a treatment classified as “off-label” is not compensated by health insurance, interestingly find out from your mutual insurer to see if they can partially cover the cost of this intervention. The prosthesis chosen for the tooth replacement may, on its own, be partially reimbursed by the health insurance.
What are the different stages of the intervention?
1, preliminary study
• The dental surgeon begins by analyzing the patient’s history and will also conduct a full oral examination to check the condition of the patient’s teeth. All cavities and other dental problems must be addressed prior to the procedure.
• The practitioner will perform a panoramic dental x-ray and possibly a scanner that will allow him/her to check that the bone mass is sufficient to accommodate the dental implant(s) to be placed.
2, treating diseased teeth and/or orthopedic fillings
• In the case of dental disease, the dentist follows a customized plan so that there is no obstacle to the placement of the implant, and will also perform a bone filling if necessary.
3, placement of dental implants
• Placement of the implant is a surgical procedure under local anesthesia, the surgeon begins by making an incision in the mucous membrane to reach the jawbone, then he will drill the cavities that fit with the implant (implants),
• The implants in these cavities will be bent and then the practitioner will close the gums by making stitches, which will be absorbed by the body in the following weeks.
• The intervention is very simple, but it can still have minor, more or less unpleasant consequences, and therefore can lead to slight swelling of the face and cause slight pain.
4, scarring
• 3-month period: once the implant(s) are in place, the recovery period, which can extend over a period of 3 to 6 months, must be respected.
• This healing period should allow the bone to fully embed the implant, the bone should actually surround the implant and even colonize its structure in order to provide a stability similar to that of a real tooth.
• During this healing phase, the surgeon can offer the patient a temporary crown that fills the empty space, in order to preserve the aesthetics of the smile.
• The next stage requires the patient to rest, to avoid exposing the jaw to too much effort until the implants are properly fixed, to obtain impeccable dental hygiene, but it must be exercised with utmost care during the first days, effective in preventing food deposits.
• The main objective is to avoid any onset of infection.
5, impression taking
• Once the area is completely healed and the implant is completely embedded in the jawbone, the surgeon can take an impression of the jaw, in order to make a crown, bridge or complete prosthesis (no-tooth case).
• He will then make a small incision to release the implant and insert the periodontal screw that will then accommodate the crown.
Dental implant structure
It will be necessary to observe some precautions after the intervention:
• During the first hours and days after the procedure, it is important to eat only soft food, which should only be eaten warm or cold.
• Avoid hot foods. Avoid hard foods that may cause a lot of stress.
• It is absolutely necessary to avoid consuming products that promote infection and slow healing, so it is imperative that you do not consume or reduce your consumption of alcohol and tobacco to a minimum.
• You have to take care of your body to avoid bleeding problems as much as possible, so we will avoid any violent effort, taking care to allow our body to recover quickly.
• High blood pressure can in some cases lead to bleeding, so it is important to avoid foods that cause high blood pressure, so we will avoid consuming alcohol, coffee and most existing drinks.
• Bleeding can also be caused by certain behaviours, such as sucking, so it is best not to use a straw, not to spit, and not to rinse your teeth extensively.
• Certain foods are not recommended because they can promote the growth of bacteria, so it is preferable to avoid consuming dairy products or beer and prefer boiled foods.
• Impeccable oral hygiene must be followed, which will be maintained by brushing and rinsing gently with mouthwash.
• If bleeding occurs despite all these precautions, just bite the compress for 15 minutes, on the other hand, if the bleeding does not stop after 15 minutes, you will have to contact your dental surgeon.
Improving the longevity of dental implants
• Dental implants are a certified technology that allows you to enjoy a perfect aesthetic result with long-lasting prosthetics.
• However, to take advantage of all these advantages, you still have to take some precautions, so it is necessary to check the condition of your teeth regularly, monitor the development of the implants and perform any maintenance treatments.
• It is therefore recommended to have at least two annual visits, these visits should be an opportunity to carry out the necessary examinations, but also to carry out maintenance care, for example, it is recommended to perform a complete exfoliation of the teeth at least once a year.
• Be aware that the dental surgeon is responsible for placing the dental implants and must make every effort to ensure the success of the intervention.
• However, once the implants are in place and all the care has been taken, you will be solely responsible for proper maintenance of the dental implants, it is really up to you to check the condition of the implants and perform the necessary checks.
Why get dental implants?
Dental implants can be offered to patients who have had one or more teeth extracted,
The reason is not only aesthetic: the dental implant makes it possible to restore comfortable chewing abilities, and this also prevents adjacent teeth from compensating by, for example, raising themselves.
Are dental implants painful?
Dental implants are performed under local anesthesia and are painless.
When do you get dental implants? Who do you consult?
• After a medical examination and a panoramic x-ray (or even a ct scan of the jaw), the dentist decides whether or not he can implant the teeth.
• After that, possible care of the teeth and gums is carried out, because the mouth must be free of any diseases before considering the placement of dental implants, the person must have perfect dental hygiene to reduce the risks of infection and implant failure.
• For aesthetic reasons, the implant can be performed immediately after tooth extraction, but in most cases, it is planned after the bone has healed.
Can implants replace multiple teeth?
• Yes, they can respond to partial or total tooth loss (complete upper or lower jaw).
• This does not necessarily mean placing an implant for every missing tooth.
• My implants can hold mobile dentures.
• However, the practitioner should offer you all possible treatments so that you can choose according to your motivation and budget.
What are the advantages of an implant compared to a bridge?
The implant acts as a root, and the bridge is a prosthesis (more precisely, a series of dental crowns tied together), however, placing a crown on an implant can have an advantage over a bridge over a natural tooth: with a bridge, the dentist is often forced to weakening and crowning the adjacent teeth of the missing tooth, with implants, distortion of two healthy teeth is avoided, in addition, the life of the bridge is generally shorter than the life of the implants.
How are dental implants placed?
• The duration of the operation varies according to the complexity of the intervention (number and location of implants, available bone volume, etc.).
• The installation is done in the building or in a room designated for this job in the dental clinic. After local anesthesia, the practitioner will incise the gums,
• He drills the implant housing into the jawbone with a drill, places the implant and makes two stitches,
• For two to four months, depending on the location, the wound heals and the bone is re-formed around the implant: this is called osseointegration, and only after this step is the artificial tooth fixed to the implant.
• For aesthetic or functional reasons, a temporary prosthesis may be fitted.
• After two to six months, the practitioner will check whether the implant has fused well into the jawbone.
• If it is firmly fixed, the prosthetic phase will be started with the impression and the fitting of the final prosthesis (crown, bridge or removable device).
Bone grafting may be required
• It is suggested when the jawbone does not appear deep enough to receive the implant. When the tooth is extracted, the bone tends to shrink over time.
• A part may also have been destroyed through extraction. If a few bones are lost, the space can be filled with artificial biomaterials or human bone bank, and if a lot is needed, the bones are taken, for example, at the level of the lower wisdom tooth. ,
• Another possibility is to take the bones from the patient’s skull or hip, which requires hospitalization and general anesthesia,
• Then the bone is fixed with screws that are removed when the implant is placed. This process makes the surgery heavier, prolongs the delay, and also increases the risk of implant failure.
Dental implants: it is better to be patient
The placement of the implant and the prosthesis is a process that can last from a few weeks to more than a year, it begins with diagnosis and evaluation, then if there is a tooth extraction, the dentist leaves the gums to heal for two to three months, it is necessary to add six months in the case of bone graft then, two to six months after implant placement to fix the false tooth, some practitioners reduce these delays by placing the implant immediately after extraction, or by placing the false tooth on the same day of implantation.
Dental implants contraindications and precautions
In general, it is necessary to be in good general health and the mouth to be as healthy as possible, there are, in fact, some contraindications to this surgery in some specific situations, which require a case-by-case study, special attention should be paid, for example, to people those with heart problems or diabetes, if you are pregnant, it is better to wait until the end of pregnancy for this surgery, only a dental surgeon can assess the feasibility of this operation with full knowledge of your health condition.
• There are local contraindications: insufficient quantity or quality of bone, general contraindications in pregnancy, heart valve disease, bone disease, poor control of diabetes, chemotherapy or immunosuppressive therapy after organ transplantation.
• Precautions must be taken in case of antiplatelet therapy or osteoporosis treated with bisphosphonates, because the latter weakens the jaws.
• If you smoke a lot, your dentist is likely to refuse to place you implants, you will have to give up temporarily to stop, in fact, smoking impairs healing and greatly increases the risk of bone failure for implants.
On the other hand, even advanced age does not prevent implant placement.
Dental implant complications
• In rare cases, there may be a risk of damage to the nerve or artery, which may lead to bleeding.
• Therefore, you should be aware of the risks involved, and in addition to other treatment options (removable prostheses, for example), the specialists advise the greatest caution with regard to these heavy surgeries, which are sometimes fixed very quickly.
• Poorly positioned implant can cause severe pain or loss of sensitivity in the face; these rare cases are for 1% of patients.
• This is a problem that can arise if the implant is mistakenly placed where nerves, arteries and veins pass.
• This should not happen to a well-equipped sonographer, in order to perfectly visualize obstructions and simulate implant placement.
• However, dental implants are rarely rejected.
The failure rate is low: 3% to 4%, but very rarely, the site becomes infected, or the implant does not hold up, we recognize it without difficulty: it is painful and we feel it moving, the most common causes are poorly treated teeth with bacteria remaining in the time of the operation, or the high temperature of the bone due to the drilling of the dentist when he drilled the place, after that he can no longer adhere to the implant and must re-form himself for a month and a half, poorly maintained teeth are also a cause of failure, the implant is sometimes removed after a few days or several years,
Complications related to this operation are very rare and generally do not represent a significant risk to the patient’s health. The most common complication is postoperative infection, then antibiotic treatment is prescribed and everything is back to normal within a few days.
But when it doesn’t hold up or breaks for no apparent reason, or after a mistake on our part, we replace the implant at our expense.
Why are dental implants expensive?
• The implant material is very expensive. In addition, there are some ceramic crowns on an alloy of gold: the use of precious metals leads to an increase in the price.
• Placement of the implant also requires a small surgical intervention aimed at drilling a cavity in the jawbone, this requires a larger technical platform than that of other dental procedures, with a lot of equipment that is single-use or that needs to be renewed regularly (eg drills to drill bone).
• The dentist practicing the installation must have benefited from specific training, which affects the portion of the price that rewards the workforce.
• Finally, the risks of infection and bleeding are greater than those of other dental procedures: they are factored into the price.
• Therefore, prices vary according to materials used and operating techniques, but also according to regions and practitioners.
• Before you decide, do not forget to ask your dentist for an estimate, which should indicate the final price to be paid, structured settlement solutions are offered by some practitioners.
What type of implants should be chosen to cover the implants?
• An implant can cover different types of implants, depending on your condition, your dentist will tell you which one is most appropriate. Below is a brief overview of the prosthetics that can be offered to you.
• Crown: made of resin, metal or ceramic. It is a covering that covers the implant and takes the shape of the missing tooth.
• Bridge: it is a possible option if many teeth are missing, then the crown is placed over the implant and serves as a column to place the adjacent false teeth.
• Full fixed prosthesis: if you lose all of your teeth, you can opt to have a full bridge placed over the implants. Not every tooth will be replaced with an implant, because only a few will be enough. It is an alternative to a fully removable prosthesis that does not require the same amount of maintenance, but also a more expensive option.
Some cases may require fully removable implants, known as ‘dentures’, to place two implants, which will secure them to the gums thanks to the push-button system. This option is less expensive than a full fixed prosthesis, but requires more daily maintenance such as cleaning after every meal. And cleansing.
If you are considering an implant or have any questions, consult the dentist at your nearest center, you can make an appointment by phone with the secretariat or online, on the page dedicated to the center of your city or region, you will then have to specify the purpose of your consultation and then you will have access to all our available time slots, you can choose the doctor that suits you, finally, know that we are more than willing to welcome you in order to provide the care you need, with all the requirements in terms of hygiene, safety and quality.
