Wellington:
(04) 801 6228
Lower Hutt:
(04) 570 0520
Whether you’re in the process of getting dental implants or just exploring them as a treatment possibility, it is helpful to know some of the terms that we use when discussing implants. We want you to be an informed participant in your dental care. Knowing what these words mean can help you feel comfortable and confident during every phase of treatment.
People tend to use dental implant as an umbrella term that includes the implant, crown, and abutment (see definition below). In fact, dental implant only refers to the part that is implanted into the bone of your jaw. The implant is designed to be an artificial tooth root, holding the artificial tooth itself securely in place while you bite, chew, talk, sneeze, and laugh!
This is the piece of hardware that connects a dental implant that’s anchored in your jawbone beneath your gums to the replacement tooth (i.e. crown). Abutments can be metal or zirconia (a white ceramic). Some dental implants include the abutment and are all one piece.
The crown is the part that actually looks like a tooth. Just like a standard crown that covers a broken tooth, an implant crown is made of specialized tooth-colored porcelain or porcelain fused to metal. This is the only part of the tooth replacement that will be visible. The crown is attached to the abutment either using a screw or a permanent dental cement.
This long and strange word is actually what makes dental implants possible. In the 1950s, scientists discovered that bone can grow and fuse with titanium, unlike other metals that the body sometimes rejects. This process of metal and bone fusing together is called osseointegration (“osseous” comes from Latin and means “having to do with bone”). Dental implants have spiral threading along the shaft and resemble screws. This threading creates a texture that bone can bond to securely.
As you may know, your teeth are as unique to you as your fingerprints. So as you can imagine, no two dental implant treatment plans are the same. There is a lot more technology and vocabulary involved than what we described above. If you hear or see something you don’t understand, please ask us about it! We want you to feel comfortable and informed.
Dental implants are the top-of-the-line when it comes to natural and functional replacements for missing teeth, but that excellence can come with a hefty price tag. Replacing missing teeth can have a positive effect on your health, appearance, and self-confidence for years to come, so we think it’s a worthwhile investment no matter what, but here’s a breakdown of the costs.
So why are implants so expensive? For one thing, comparing pricing for dental implants isn’t like comparing pricing for a new car. Dental implants are not simply objects, they’re also service in the form of dental treatment. Looking at dental implant pricing is more like shopping around for a custom deck for your backyard. The cost is going to depend on the time commitment and skill of the carpenter, the materials chosen and the condition of the location where the deck needs to be built.
While the dental implant itself may look like a bolt or a screw, it is not something you could pick up at your neighborhood hardware store. Dental implants are made from titanium alloy. This durable kind of metal is biocompatible and bonds with bone (in a process called “osseointegration”). This is what helps the implant anchor securely in your jawbone, just like a natural tooth’s root would. The exact formulations of titanium alloy used in dental implants today are the result of years of clinical studies and trials. Some types are more expensive than others (just like different types of wood would affect the cost of timber for your backyard deck).
The second part of an implant is the crown. This is the part that looks like an actual tooth at is visible above your gumline. These crowns just like regular dental crowns used to treat decayed or broken teeth. They are made from special kinds of ceramic or porcelain that are made to look and feel like your natural teeth.
Luckily, as the popularity of dental implants has risen, so have the numbers of dentists who have become trained in dental implant placement. Many dentists already have years of experience placing dental implants to create long-lasting smiles. But compared with other procedures, dental implant treatment isn’t the quickest. Most of the time, the procedure takes a few appointments to complete, usually with healing time required between appointments. The cost of dental implants includes the time commitment of the dentist and the dental staff. Just like for your backyard deck, you have to expect to pay the craftsperson and any assistants for their time.
The ease with which dental implants are placed depends on your specific oral condition. The treatment planning process will involve x-rays and scans to give the dentist a precise idea of what’s where in your mouth. For example, some people who have been missing a tooth for a long time have started to lose thickness in their jaw. When this happens, bone grafting may be required to build the bone back up before an implant is placed. Think of it like this: a deck on a steep hill would need more support than a deck on a flat lawn, and that extra support costs a little more in time and materials.
No worthwhile investment in your health should ever be considered too expensive. And no other tooth replacement option compares to the durability, usability, and comfort of dental implants. They’re the only treatment that can truly make you feel like you have your teeth back!
Dental implants are one of the greatest innovations of modern dentistry. They are true prosthetic replacement teeth, consisting of an artificial titanium tooth root with a porcelain crown attached. Over 3 million Americans have dental implants, and that number is increasing by 500,000 people per year (source). With dental implants becoming a more and more popular solution to replace missing teeth, it’s fair to ask: how long do dental implants last?
The short answer is that dental implants can last a lifetime. Here’s the long answer.
Anyone who has had to have a crown or a bridge replaced or dentures re-fitted knows that not all dental restorations last forever. These three types of restorations can each fail for their own reasons. In the case of crowns and bridges, they can fail if the original tooth structure they’re attached to gets compromised due to decay. Most dentures eventually need to be refitted or replaced when bone loss causes the jaw to change shape.
Luckily, if you get dental implants, you don’t have to worry about the same risks. One of the reasons that implants are considered the best and most advanced option for replacing missing teeth is they are not subject to the same failure problems as standard crowns, bridges, or dentures. That isn’t to say that dental implants work perfectly all the time, but recent studies have shown that dental implants have a 98% success rate (source).
Many dentists conservatively estimate that implants will last about 25 years. The reason we can’t guarantee they’ll last a lifetime is there haven’t been very many long-term studies of dental implants yet.
Dental implants in their modern form were invented a little more than 50 years ago. In 1965, a Swedish scientist named Per-Ingvar Brånemark placed the first dental implant in the mouth of a man named Gösta Larsson. When Larsson died in 2006 at the age of 75, his original implants were still in place. They had lasted over 40 years!
Just like your natural teeth, the health and longevity of a dental implant depend on looking after your oral health. Dental implants are cared for just like natural teeth with daily brushing and flossing and regular dental checkups. Smoking can make it much more likely for dental implants to fail, as can pre-existing gum disease (periodontal disease). These health factors should be taken into account before a patient decides to have dental implants placed. If you’re interested in replacing missing teeth with dental implants, come see us and start a conversation!
Perhaps the earliest example of dental implants were seashells found in the jaw of an ancient Mayan skeleton from 1,300 years ago. While the Mayans were known for their surprisingly advanced dental knowledge, their seashell solution is a long way from today’s modern dental implants. And like many amazing, world-changing inventions, dental implants discovered practically by mistake.
It all started in Sweden in 1952. An orthopedic surgeon named Dr. Per-Ingvar Branemark conducted an experiment studying bone healing and blood flow that involved placing titanium rods in the legs of rabbits. At the end of his months-long experiment, he went to remove the rods from the rabbits’ legs and discovered they were totally fixed in place. The bone had fused to the titanium and grown around it.
This was remarkable because the human body (and the rabbit body for that matter) usually doesn’t like foreign objects being placed inside it. The body views the object as a threat and rejects it. Just think about how irritated and painful your skin becomes when you get a splinter.
Following his discovery, Dr. Branemark coined the term “osseointegration” to describe the process of bone adhering to metal. (“Osseo” comes from the Latin word for bone.) Using titanium as anchors for replacement teeth was on of the first applications that Dr. Branemark thought of for his discovery. He placed the first implants in a dental patient in the mid-1960s, however, it wasn’t until the 1980s that the use of titanium implants became accepted by the rest of the medical and dental community.
Since then, the technology has continued to advance as scientists and dentists strive create better versions of dental implants. Improvements have been made to the materials, shapes and installation techniques of dental implants, leading to shorter healing times and making the procedure available to a wider range of patients.
The difference between traditional techniques of tooth replacement and dental implants is like the difference between a peg leg and a high-tech bionic prosthetic leg. The development of dental implants allowed dentists, for the first time, to truly replace a tooth. Because implants have a root and a crown structure just like a real tooth, they function just like a real tooth and can last for decades, unlike bridges and dentures which often need to be adjusted and replaced.
While many patients have only heard of the dental implants procedure within the last few years, the truth is that the concept of dental implants has been around for centuries, and modern dental implants have been around for over 60 years. The success of implants in restoring missing teeth to patients’ mouths truly makes it feel like we’re in a golden age of dentistry. Dentists the world over are grateful to have this amazing technology at their disposal to restore patients’ smiles.
Dental implants are the latest & greatest in dental technology that allows dentist to replace missing teeth permanently. You may know that implants can replace teeth & are used in complete smile reconstructions & makeovers. But you may also not be sure exactly what dental implants are, & how they work.
That’s why we’ve written this simple & quick intro to dental implants. If you want more detail about the implant procedure or want to find out if you’re a good candidate for dental implants, please call us to schedule an implant consultation visit.
First, we want to familiarize you with how natural teeth work. Natural teeth consist of a crown, which is the visible part of tooth that’s outside the gums, & a root, which is under the gums & attached to the bone of your jaw. Your smaller front teeth tend to have one root each while the larger teeth toward the back of your mouth (molars & bicuspids) tend to have more than one. The root of your teeth contain the nerve & the pulp, which nourish the inside of a healthy tooth. When this pulp becomes damaged or infected, that’s when the dentist tells you you need a root canal, a procedure which can save your tooth even when the pulp is compromised.
Traditional tooth replacement options such as bridges (partials) & dentures only structurally replaced the crown part of your missing tooth. Bridges or partials replace your tooth by attaching an artificial tooth to the healthy teeth nearby. Dentures replace an entire upper or lower arch of teeth & visually replace the gums too for a natural look. Neither of these options anchor replacement teeth in your jaw or gums, which means that people with these appliances have to avoid many foods & may experience slipping or discomfort when eating or speaking.
With the quickly-advancing technology of dental implants, we can finally offer a restorative dentistry option that replaces your missing teeth both visually & functionally.
Dental implants actually consist of two parts, just like your natural teeth. The implant itself acts as an artificial tooth root & is secured in the bone of your jaw just like a real root. Implants are made of a special kind of bio-safe titanium. Both this special metal & the screw-like shape of the implant’s lower portion are designed so that bone will grow around it, keeping it tightly in place.
The second part of the dental implant is the crown. This is an artificial tooth that is made of porcelain & is custom designed by a dental technician to match the color, size & shape of your natural teeth. It is attached to the metal implant using a permanent dental adhesive.
Once the procedure is complete & the patient has healed, they will have fully functional teeth that are virtually indistinguishable from natural teeth. The result is a return to eating any of the foods you want, speaking naturally, smiling confidently & being free of dental pain.
It’s true that dental implants cost more than most tooth replacement options such as bridges or dentures. If your biggest concern is cost, you may consider these other options. However, if you biggest concern is your longterm comfort, health & quality of life, implants are your best option.
