Dental Implants

Dental Implants

If you have a missing tooth, a dental implant is a good, biological way to replace that tooth.

With a dental implant you can chew normally, smile with confidence, and care for your teeth just the way you always have. There is no need for any special cleaning procedures and your replacement tooth will work and look the same as your natural ones!

The main advantage of an implant is that nothing has to be done to the teeth on either side of the space. If they are healthy, the teeth on either side can be left untreated, whereas, the placement of a dental, fixed bridge may require those teeth to have crowns placed on them. Teeth may also be replaced with a removable appliance (denture).

If the teeth on either side of the missing tooth already have crowns, there is little advantage with an implant. While a conventional bridge can be done relatively quickly, implant treatment takes time, as the dental implants need to heal into the bone before they can be used.

At Stockholm Dental Clinic there will be two specialists involved in your dental implant treatment. Dr. Mikael Kahn, the Prosthodontics, plans the treatment, does the prosthetic work and takes care of the follow up. His Maxillo-facial surgeon, places the implants in your jaw. (It is important, to have a Maxillo-facial surgeon place the implants, someone who does implant surgery on a daily basis and not just once in a while. This is to ensure a successful outcome.)

With most current implant surgery techniques, there is a healing period after the implant has been placed. The healing period is normally 2-3 months before a crown can be placed on the implant.

Dental implants are becoming the option of choice for tooth replacement. They are the closest thing to a natural tooth. They function just like your own teeth. Titanium implants heal into the jawbone. This process is called osseointegration and is the most important part of the implant treatment.

Dental implants can be used to support a single crown, a bridge or a denture (prostheses).

Implant treatment is most often done in two steps:

  • Step 1: Surgical procedure
    The implant is placed in the jaw bone. The implant has a screw-like shape, and is made of titanium. It will heal into the bone, covered by the gum.
  • Step 2: Prosthetic treatment
    Once the titanium screw has healed into the bone, which normally takes 2-3 months, it can be used as an artificial root (or anchor) for the new crown. Implants can also be used to anchor bridges of different lengths, and removable dentures.

Properly placed and maintained, they last a lifetime provided that you brush and floss and when applicable use interproximal brushes.

Advantages of Dental Implants compared to fixed bridges and removal dentures:

  • An implant anchored tooth or bridge looks and feels like your own teeth. They are anchored in the bone.
  • The presence of implants in the jaw bone prevents the normal bone resorption (shrinking) that otherwise always occurs after teeth have been removed. This shrinking of the jaw bone is a serious long-term problem for patients who have had all their teeth extracted.
  • Implants do not require any work on adjacent teeth. By contrast, a dental bridge requires preparing (grinding) of the adjacent teeth for crowns. Removable partial dentures require some grinding of adjacent teeth and the fitting of clasps and rests on them, which can catch food.
  • Since dental implants are permanently anchored in the bone, any prosthetic restoration fixated to the implants will be securely anchored, unlike a removable prosthesis where there is always some degree of mobility.

Disadvantages of implant treatment:

  • They may be more expensive than other types of tooth replacement.
  • If you only have one or two missing teeth and if the teeth adjacent to those spaces already have or need crowns, there is less advantage with implant treatment.
  • Implant treatment involves a longer time span from start to finish.

For a dental implant examination, schedule an appointment at our dental clinic in Puerto Banus, Nueva Andalucía, Spain.