Dental implants help you gain a third set of teeth
In a human lifetime there are only two sets of natural teeth: primary teeth and permanent teeth. When primary teeth fall out, permanent teeth grow in, but when a permanent tooth is lost, it is gone for good and cannot regenerate. However, due to a lack of awareness, the rate of missing teeth among older adults in China has remained high; among the 65-74 age group, 10% have already had all their teeth "honorably retire."
Losing natural teeth has a huge impact on health. Research has shown that missing teeth can not only cause malnutrition and deformation of nearby teeth, but may also affect the head and neck muscles, causing soreness. Therefore, restoring missing teeth should be taken seriously by middle-aged and older adults.
With the development of technology, traditional dental crowns and removable dentures can no longer satisfy people's pursuit of quality of life. Because dental implants closely resemble natural teeth in function, structure and appearance, they have become the preferred restoration method for more and more patients with missing teeth, and they are also known as humanity's third set of teeth.
Implants are more suitable for older adults
Most patients with missing teeth have had experience wearing dentures, but due to technical limitations, traditional dentures have never been satisfactory in restoring chewing function. With oral healthcare having developed to its current level, experts from various fields do not recommend traditional dentures for restoring missing teeth, because the emergence of dental implant technology allows the gaps left by missing teeth to be better filled.
Because dental implants place pure titanium biocompatible tooth roots with strong bone-bonding ability into the area of the missing tooth, they cause no damage to adjacent teeth. Thanks to the tooth root, they are more stable, reliable and durable than traditional dentures, and can restore normal chewing function to the greatest extent, with biting force reaching 98.8% of that of normal teeth.
It is understood that dental implants require little or no grinding of your own real teeth, and their chewing function is far superior to many traditional dentures. Dental implants have strong retention and stability, and can take root in the patient's mouth just like real teeth; they prevent bone resorption and preserve your alveolar bone. Dental implants do not need the base plates and clasps that removable dentures require, and there is no dulled sense of taste or discomfort caused by large areas of plastic base. Dental implants are small in size, do not show metal, and are aesthetically pleasing, which helps maintain oral cleanliness and hygiene. These are all advantages of dental implants.
Rong Mingdeng also stated that dental implant surgery is a relatively minor alveolar surgical procedure, similar to tooth extraction, using local anesthesia, with minimal trauma, allowing the patient to eat right after surgery, and with almost no pain. Generally, implant placement takes only several tens of minutes to a few hours to complete. Because the materials used are biomaterials with excellent compatibility with the human body, dental implants produce no adverse side effects. Even if bone integration of the implant fails, it can be removed and re-implanted with an improved method, or replaced with an ordinary denture.
Three situations are most suited to dental implants
With their unique advantage of being the closest thing to natural teeth, dental implants are increasingly favored by patients. Although the one-time investment is somewhat higher, the treatment results are better and the service life is longer. Generally speaking, the following three situations are relatively suitable for treatment with dental implant technology:
1. The loss of a single tooth. In this case, if a removable denture is made, it requires hooks or a base, which affects appearance and pronunciation and is inconvenient to use. If a fixed denture is chosen, part of the healthy tooth structure on both neighboring teeth must be ground away.
2. No real teeth behind the missing tooth. In this case, no traditional denture method produces ideal results.
3. Full-mouth or half-mouth tooth loss. With traditional methods, as age increases, the upper and lower alveolar bone severely atrophies, affecting the restoration with full dentures. Implant restoration can be carried out once the following conditions are ruled out: the alveolar bone at the missing tooth site in the mouth has sufficient bone volume, there is no periodontitis, diabetes or other serious oral diseases, and there is no kidney disease, heart disease, coagulation disorder, mental disorder, infectious disease or bone metabolism disease, etc.
Minimally invasive implants carry low risk
Rong Mingdeng pointed out that many patients are afraid of implant surgery, feeling that it will damage their teeth and bones. He stated that, at present, dental implant surgery is already performed using minimally invasive methods.
As a minimally invasive dental implant technique, it must include both the minimally invasive concept and minimally invasive technology. It differs markedly from traditional implant techniques: the surgery is more accurate and reliable, with lower risk, less trauma and faster recovery, striving to minimize the patient's trauma both physically and psychologically.
To truly achieve this, advanced examination equipment and auxiliary methods must serve as the basic prerequisite. From the patient's oral condition to dental model analysis, accurate and thorough preoperative examination and measurement of the bone bed to be implanted is required, such as using advanced 3D printers to quickly produce three-dimensional dental models and conduct three-dimensional analysis of the jawbone; using cone beam CT equipment specially designed for dentistry to fully understand the height of the jawbone and the degree of bone hardness, the height of the jawbone at the maxillary sinus floor and diseases inside the maxillary sinus, and the distribution and course of important nerves and blood vessels in the upper and lower jaws, etc. Through such complete data, the appropriate specifications and number of the dental implant system can be selected, and the anticipated position and direction for placing the artificial tooth root can be accurately determined; when necessary, computer navigation technology can also be used to create a template specially for dental implant surgery, minimizing surgical risk to the greatest extent.
In addition, although minimally invasive dental implant technology is a minimally invasive procedure, it is not suitable for every patient and has certain corresponding contraindications, such as severe systemic diseases, uncontrollable or uncontrolled periodontal disease, and so on. Therefore, whether a patient can undergo minimally invasive dental implant surgery must still be carefully evaluated by a professional implant dentist.
How long do dental implant surgery and the treatment cycle take respectively?
The time for implant surgery varies depending on the number and location of implants, and is basically completed within 1-2 hours. After implant placement, in order to improve the strength of integration with the alveolar bone, restoration is performed after 4-6 months for the upper jaw and after 2-3 months for the lower jaw. However, this must be determined according to the oral health condition and varies from person to person.
Is there an age limit for dental implants?
In principle, dental implant surgery generally has no age limit, and many older patients with missing teeth have already undergone dental implant surgery. However, before dental implantation, the patient must undergo necessary blood tests, electrocardiogram examinations, etc., to fully assess the patient's physical health. For older patients with poor alveolar bone conditions, the dentist can perform bone grafting before dental implant surgery to increase the height and width of the alveolar bone, so that after surgery the alveolar bone of older patients can fully meet the requirements for dental implantation.
Will dental implant surgery have aftereffects?
If the pain still has not disappeared 10 days after surgery, a doctor should be consulted. A small amount of oozing after surgery is normal; but if bleeding still occurs after 1-2 hours, treatment should be sought immediately. If there is gum swelling, loosening of the implant, or numbness that persists after the anesthetic wears off, it is best to consult a doctor.
How long can dental implants last?
The duration is determined by the patient's condition. Compared with ordinary bridges and crowns, dental implants last much longer, mainly depending on the patient's health status. Oral hygiene conditions, or excessive smoking and drinking, can cause inflammation of the tissues around the implant, thereby affecting the service life of the dental implant. Teeth are a "second face" and also a sign of health. Follow WeChat: beijing_kerkq. Dental health starts with the teeth.