Having a dental implant implies the same care as having a natural tooth. Although dental implants are commonly applied, the problem is that they apply the implants to patients that aren’t good candidates for this kind of procedure. For example, the people who smoke are not good candidates, people who doesn’t maintain dental bacterial plaque under control or people who suffer from non-treated periodontal disease, as well as diabetic patients. However, keeping control of these situations, may lead to a really successful implant therapy.
There’s so many points about implants unknown to the patients that are worth analyzing. For example, having a dental implant requires the same care as having a natural tooth, that’s why prevention is primordial to avoid infection, which in most cases can put the implant in danger and shorten its lifespan.
Generally, dental implants are made of pure titanium, even though nowadays they’re being made out of other materials. These implants have a fixation that’s introduced in the jaw bones to function as an artificial root, in order to replace the absent tooth, then the dental prosthetic is applied over the artificial root.
It’s estimated that 95-98% of the implants get integrated in a good way to the bone, which is a successful treatment. And 90% of them keep functioning perfectly after 15 years, although this is not due just to the kind of screw but also to the kind of surface.
Hazards of not taking care of the implant
Not following a good oral hygiene brings the apparition of biological or mechanical troubles or complications in a high percentage of cases. The less common are the fracture of the implant or the screw attached to the prosthetic, but there’s still a possibility of that happening.
Regarding the biological issues, when the implants are not properly maintained, the gum gets swollen and the mouth mucosa around it expands, gets red and bleeds. If this infection is not treated, it can affect the bone around the implant, which can cause bone loss or put at risk the patient’s overall health and compromise the integrity of the implant.
About the lifespan of the implants, today is not possible to measure the time the patients are going to have the implants. However, the ones that are being used now don’t have an expiration date.
A hundred years ago wires or screws in different materials were applied inside the bones to save a loose tooth but to no avail. The base of the modern implantology was born 35 years ago and since then, it has been growing considerably.
The most important is not to forget the longevity of the implant or its lifespan but it depends on:
- The characteristics of the patient (the conditions of the bone to receive the implant)
- The health state of the patient (if a determined presence of illness like diabetes exists)
- The habits of the patient (smoking, high sugar diet, etc)
Here at Stamford Periodontics, we are pleased to provide the highest quality of periodontal treatment to Fairfield County through our expert dental implants Fairfield County, CT, implant dentistry Fairfield County, CT, tooth implants Fairfield County, CT, and also Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien, Westport, Fairfield, Norwalk, Wilton, and Ridgefield. Make your appointment today at 203.252.2252.
