Dental implants are screws made of titanium or zirconia. Implant itself is just the screw which stays inside the bone and functions as tooth root. It cannot be seen without dental x-ray. To make a dental crown over implant, an abutment is needed. Abutment is the piece which connects the implant to the crown, bridge or any sort of denture. Missing tooth is replaced with dental protheses suitable for the patient and case.
What is Dental Implants Procedure
Placement of dental implant, number of visits and duration depends on the patient and the case itself. Patient’s medical condition also plays a crucial role in evaluating the case. In an ideal scenario, complete procedure-from implantation to permanent crown- can be done within 3 months. In cases which patients need bone grafting or sinus lifting, process can go up to 6 months and may need 3 visits.
Here are the detailed information about the whole process:
Consultation and Treatment Plan
Even though oral examination is needed for the final decision, we know how important for our patients to have an idea about the process before coming to İstanbul. So, initial consultation will be done through your in mouth photos and dental x-ray. X-ray is quite important for dental implant consultation as the surgeon needs to see the bone structure to give an idea about the process. After seeing your x-ray and in mouth photos, surgeon will be able to evaluate the current condition of your teeth and determine if patient need extraction, bone grafting or sinus lifting treatments.
Once you are in the clinic, you’ll have oral consultation with the surgeon to decide if dental implants are suitable for you. During consultation, surgeon may need additional examination or requests such as CT scan to check the bone density and mass. Surgeon will ecaluate the case on 3D CT scan and decide which type of implants will be used for the case.
Bone grafting (if needed)
If the bone is not sufficient enough to make dental implant, bone grafting may be needed. Bone grafting is placing either synthetic or natural bone material to the implantation area so that implant can be stable and secure. Depending on the amount of bone graft, implant can be done within the same time or in a different session.
Implantation
Implantation is done under local anesthesia. In some cases, if the patient has dentophobia, treatment can be done with Sedation as well. In any cases, local anesthesia is needed before starting. Once the patient is ready, surgeon starts with opening the gum tissue to expose the bone area. Once the jawbone is exposed, surgeon will use a dental drill to create a socket for the implants. Then, implant is placed in the in this socket. After the implant is placed into jawbone, gums are stitched over implant.
Healing
After implantation is completed, patients need to wait between 3-6 months for the oseesointegration process. Osseointegration is the process in which the bone accepts implants as a part of it. Depending on the patient’s medical condition, bone density and mass, this process may take between 3-6 months.
After Care
We can devide after care into two as short and long term. Small bruises and swelling right after the surgery is expected. To prevent this and any kind of complications, patients need to follow surgeon’s suggestions and prescription. Smoking and consuming solid food until the gums are healed should be avoided. Any hot beverage or food should not be consumed. Success of implant in the long-term requires oral hygiene. It is crucial to keep the implant area, temporary crowns and gum tissue clean. So, daily brushing plays an important role. Surgeon might need to see an additional x-ray from patients after 2 months.
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