WHAT IS IMPLANT?

You might have lost or may loose one or more of your teeth for various reasons, despite all measures taken. Periodontal diseases, acute decay and trauma can be counted among these reasons.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO REPLACE THE MISSING TEETH?

• Bridge
• Removable denture prosthesis
• Implant

Bridge is the permanent prosthesis which is prepared by getting support from the healthy teeth in front or behind one or more missing teeth; which is fixed by the dentist and can not be removed by the patient.

Removable denture prosthesis is the prosthesis type which is applied when the gap created by the missing teeth is too wide to make a bridge and can be removed and placed by the patient.

Implant is an alternative method to bridge and removable prosthesis. It is a special prosthesis type where teeth gap is completed by also imitating the root of teeth which is different than bridge and removable prosthesis.

WHAT IS AN IMPLANT?

Implant is an application where titanium screws are placed to serve as tooth root in the areas of missing teeth. After this titanium screw is placed into the jawbone, 6-8 weeks has to pass for the bone to fill the the gap around the screw and for it to fuse properly. Afterwards, a piece is placed onto this screw, which imitates the shape of the abutment and; after the attachment of the crown, the implant process is completed.

CAN IMPLANT BE APPLIED ON EVERYBODY?

In some cases, implant may not be applied; it may not be applied on children in developing age, those who have haemorrhage, some kind of bone diseases or, on drug and alcohol addicts. Whereas, in the case of diabetics; if the blood sugar is under control, it can easily be applied.

APPLICATION OF IMPLANT:

Implants are in various sizes and diameters. Amongst these, the most appropriate one is chosen by the doctor and applied with respect to patient’s bone structure and status of the anatomical formations.

Afterwards, the necessary preparations are made on the jawbone, for the selected implant to be placed into the bone. For this, appropriate drills are used, which are produced in agreeable diameters for the implant.

The drills (abrasive) produced for this preparation is applied in order. All these procedures are performed under local anaesthesia and, no pain or affliction is felt.

The implant, which is found appropriate by the doctor upon comprehensive examinations carried out on the x-ray and mouth, is removed from its package in a sterilized environment and placed into this slot prepared in the bone.

Afterwards, 6-8 weeks has to pass for the implant to complete its osteointegration (biological fixation of implant with the jawbone). At the end of this period, gingiva former (gum shaper) is placed with a small procedure on the gums. This gingiva former remains there for one week and, at the end of this period; gums gains the desired shape with the implant.

At the next stage after this, measurements are made on the implant, which osteointegrated (biologically bonding into the jawbone) with the jawbone. Afterwards abutment (piece imitating the cut teeth) is placed onto the implant. The tooth prepared in the laboratory is cemented on this piece. There is no need for local anaesthesia (injection) during all these procedures. Even though no anaesthesia is applied, no pain or affliction is felt.

WHAT IS THE LIFESPAN OF AN IMPLANT?

The lifespan of the implant depends on many factors. The chance of encountering any problem is minimized, if attention paid to these. There are still patients who carry in their mouth the implants which are implemented even at the early stages of the implant applications.

What are these factors;

Oral hygiene; you may obtain proper oral hygiene by brushing your teeth regularly. Apart from this, carefully follow your doctor’s recommendations.
See your doctor regularly, at least every six months for your check-ups. Don’t forget, a proper oral hygiene shall both lengthen the lifespan of your natural teeth and also implants.