What Are the Most Common Types of Dental Implants?

Isela Cantuarias • November 15, 2023

Are you missing a tooth (or perhaps several)? Over time, your teeth may shift into gaps where teeth are missing, causing additional oral health issues.

 

As your appearance changes, your self-confidence could falter.


Before that happens, consider getting dental implants in Teaneck and West New York, NJ. Implant dentistry can restore your smile and help you avoid additional tooth problems.


What are the most common types of dental implants available, and which suits your needs? Read on to find out!

What Are Dental Implants?

A dental implant includes a small, titanium post (which looks like a screw), the abutment that sits atop it, and a dental crown. The titanium post is surgically placed under your gum line, within your jawbone. Over time, the post will fuse with your jawbone, ensuring the implant's stability.


Implant dentistry is recommended for patients who are missing teeth. The post will replace your missing tooth's natural root.


The post will fuse with your bone (like a tooth root) while providing your jaw with stimulation. Stimulating the jaw bone can preserve your natural bone structure. 


The Benefits

Implant dentistry can provide:


  • Durability
  • Fewer speech issues
  • Ease when chewing/eating
  • Natural-looking results
  • Better comfort than dentures
  • Improved oral health
  • Stronger self-confidence


Without a dental implant, you may experience bone deterioration, facial sagging, and wrinkle development. You may begin to look older than your age.


Missing teeth can also cause tooth problems. For example, surrounding teeth can shift toward the gap, leading to crooked teeth.


Food particles and bacteria will have more space to hide, which can cause plaque to develop. Plaque can harden into tartar or release acid, increasing your risk of tooth decay.


As plaque develops under your gum line, you could develop gingivitis. Gingivitis (gum disease) can cause bleeding gums, a change in how your teeth fit together, and loose teeth. You could start losing teeth if you neglect to seek treatment. 


The best dental implants (and a proper oral healthcare routine) can last a lifetime. They're longer lasting than other tooth restoration options, including dentures. 


The Types of Dental Implants

Depending on your oral health, overall health, and needs, your dentist may recommend one of three types of dental implants. The three main types include endosteal, subperiosteal, and all-on-4 dental implants. Endosteal dental implants are the most popular, with a success rate of nearly 100%.


Endosteal Dental Implants

When most people picture dental implants, they're imagining endosteal implants. These screw-like dental prosthetics are designed to fit into a patient's jawbone.


Over time, a process called osseointegration occurs. Your jawbone will grow around and fuse with the jawbone as you heal. Osseointegration ensures the implant's stability.


Once you heal (which can take a few months), your dentist will place an abutment atop the dental implant. During a third appointment, your dentist will place a permanent tooth (a dental crown) atop the abutment.


This type of dental will provide your jawbone with the stimulation it needs to remain healthy. However, you'll need enough jawbone volume for this treatment option.


If there's not enough jawbone present, your dentist may recommend a bone grafting procedure. This procedure will prepare your jawbone for the endosteal implant. Otherwise, your dentist will recommend another type of implant. 


Subperiosteal

Subperiosteal dental implants aren't recommended as frequently as endosteal implants. They're often an alternative when patients don't have the necessary jawbone volume to ensure an implant's stability.


This type of implant isn't inserted into a patient's jawbone. Instead, they feature a frame-like structure that will rest atop the patient's jawbone (beneath gum tissue).


Your jawbone won't hold the implant in place. Instead, your gum tissues will heal around the frame to support the dental implant. 


Subperiosteal implants are the best dental implants for patients without the necessary jawbone mass. They're also ideal if you don't wish to undergo a bone grafting procedure. 


All-on-4

Your dentist may recommend all-on-4 dental implants if you're missing more than one tooth and want to avoid dentures. During your procedure, the dentist will place a titanium screw into the jawbone. As with endosteal implants, the screw will replace a tooth's missing root.


Compared with endosteal implants, all-on-4 implants don't require a lot of bone density. These are the best dental implants for patients missing a full arch of teeth. 


Your dentist will place two implants at the front of the mouth and two angled at the back of the mouth. This provides support for the entire arch.


The procedure for all-on-4 dental implants is less invasive and therefore requires a shorter healing process. There's also more flexibility in the design and fit. 


Getting Dental Implants

Your dentist will determine if you're an ideal candidate for implant dentistry based on your bone volume, age, and oral health. Remember, you'll need a certain amount of bone present. Otherwise, your jawbone won't fuse with the implant.


During your consultation appointment, your dentist will use a CBCT scanner. This technology will provide a 3D view of your jawbone and mouth.

After evaluating our bone quality, your dentist will develop a customized treatment plan based on your needs. 


However, getting dental implants isn't ideal for patients who are young. They may need to wait for their facial structure to develop fully.


It's also important to make sure you're in good general and oral health. Let your dentist know if you have gum disease, are a heavy smoker, or have a condition like diabetes. They may recommend an alternative treatment option. 


During your consultation appointment, talk to your dentist about the healing process. It's important to follow their aftercare plan to the letter.


Brushing and flossing your teeth daily can keep plaque and bacteria at bay. You could extend the lifespan of your dental implant and avoid complications. 


Dental Implants in Teaneck and West New York, NJ

Missing teeth can compromise your oral health, appearance, and happiness. Consider getting dental implants in Teaneck and West New York, NJ. With treatment, you can improve your smile and enjoy lasting results. 


Want to review your treatment options? The team at Complete Dental Works has years of experience restoring smiles.


We'll create a personalized treatment plan based on your oral health needs. Contact us now to schedule your consultation appointment. 



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Dentists require images of your teeth, gums, and surrounding structures to create diagnostic models of your mouth for various purposes. For example, dentists take dental impressions of the teeth, gums, and oral structure when providing different treatments to restore teeth. In addition, the images are essential for creating whitening trays, retainers, mouthguards, et cetera. Traditional impressions are pretty familiar in dentistry, although advances now make digital teeth impressions popular similarly. Dental Impressions Explained If you are unaware of dental impressions, these are mere imprints of the structures inside your mouth. A special putty helps make conventional dental impressions in use for several years. However, dentistry advances have given dentists access to digital teeth images that they take using a handheld wand and computer software to capture mouth pictures. How Do Dental Impressions Help? Dental impressions help create models and casts of your mouth to enable dentists to view the fitting of your dental arches. They also help your dentist to see the size and relationship of your teeth and gums. In addition, dental impressions allow for various dental restorations and oral appliances. For example, if you need restorations of damaged or missing teeth, the dentist requires impressions of your mouth to have dental crowns, bridges, dentures, veneers, clear aligners, retainers, teeth whitening trays, sports mouthguards, night guards, and sleep apnea oral appliances. The restorations mentioned above either help to fix damaged or missing teeth, protect your teeth from sustaining damage, or help improve their aesthetic appearance. Therefore dental impressions help in various ways to provide images of your teeth and mouth to the dentist to custom-create models of your mouth for dental laboratories to fabricate your restorations. Kinds of Dental Impressions Three types of dental impressions are familiar in dentistry. They are preliminary, final, and bite registration. Preliminary impressions help fabricate dental prostheses such as crowns and dentures during the diagnostic process or the initial step in the procedure. The Teaneck dentist generally takes impressions during your initial visit for a consultation. Preliminary impressions provide dentistry with a visual aid to plan your treatment. Final impressions are taken for the dental laboratory to fabricate restorations or appliances. For example, dentists might have crowns, bridges, dentures, retainers, etc., manufactured from the putty dental laboratory using final impressions. Bite registration impressions display how your upper and lower teeth fit together. What Happens When Taking Dental Impressions? The dentist might use dental putty or the latest technology when making dental impressions of your mouth. The procedures for taking the images vary but provide similar results. Traditional dental impressions require the dentist to dispense a putty-like dental impression material in a plastic or metal tray. After that, the dentist places the trays over your teeth, asking you to bite on them. A minute or two later, the rental impression material sets and hardens. Eventually, the dentist removes the trays from your mouth beside the impression material. The impressions are for the dental laboratory, where a technician will pour stone into the impression to make a cast of your mouth. Presently digital impressions in Teaneck are gaining popularity because dental offices are increasingly investing in them to capture thousands of images of your teeth and gums. Digital prints do not require your dentist to prepare trays with putty to take digital impressions. Instead, the dentist in Teaneck passes a wand over your teeth to view your mouth on a computer screen and capture the images. The computer stitches the pictures to create a digital 3D image of your dental arches. The dentist forwards the digital graphics electronically to the dental lab, where the technician starts working on your requirements. Can Dental Impressions Pull Teeth out? In most cases, dental impressions will likely not pull teeth out. Digital dental images make it impossible for the wand to remove teeth from your mouth. Unfortunately, if you have loose teeth from trauma or periodontal disease, you might experience pulling of the teeth with traditional impressions. You can discuss the possibility of your teeth getting pulled by traditional impressions before your consultation to ensure the professional uses the digital variety. What Is the Cost of Dental Impressions? The cost of dental impressions varies according to the purpose they are needed for and the dentist’s expertise besides your geographical location. However, if you are visiting dentists for restorations like dental implants or veneers, the professionals provide a free consultation during your meeting and will likely not charge for the impressions unless you want them merely to look at the insides of your mouth. In addition, dental impressions are standard tools of the trade of dentists who use them frequently when providing minor or significant dental treatments to patients. Therefore the cost of dental impressions should not remain a concern in your mind unless you contact the dentist for frivolous reasons unrelated to any dental procedure or want to pull the dentist’s leg for reasons unknown. If you need restorations like indirect fillings or teeth whitening from Complete Dental Works — Teaneck expects the dentist to capture digital impressions of your mouth to create the fillers and teeth whitening trays. You will have to pay for the whitening trays, while the images for the restorations will likely be on the house. Therefore contacting this practice for your dental treatments is suggested for access to the latest technology, helping provide excellent services.
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