Dental Implants

As with all procedures, dental implants also come with their fair share of pros and cons. The following is a brief discussion of their advantages and disadvantages.

Pros of Dental Implants

• Realistic: Dental implants aren’t extension for your teeth, they fuse with your actual bone structure permanently, thus providing an extremely strong foundation for your dental crowns or dental bridges. As such, they perfectly resemble your actual teeth and no one can tell the difference.
• Speed: It’s difficult to speak clearly is you have missing teeth. It can also be difficult to speak through dentures because they often fall out while you’re speaking, which can be embarrassing. Dental implants, however, are perfectly lodged into your bones so there’s no chance of them dislocating.
• Eating: If you don’t have a complete set of teeth, chewing and eating certain food items can be difficult. Eating is even worse with dentures because they may keep sliding off or you may have to remove them while eating. There are no such issues with dental implants — they function just like real teeth and allow you to eat perfectly.
• Comfort: Dental implants fuse with your body and become a part of it. Over time, you don’t even feel them anymore because they’re an extension of your body, making them extremely comfortable.
• Durable: Dental implants are extremely strong since the roots are made of titanium and dental crown or bridge may be made of materials like porcelain or ceramic.
• Conservative: Dental implants are more conservative than crowns and bridges because the dentist doesn’t have to shave off your actual teeth in order to accommodate the implants. The post is simply placed into an empty slot that’s already missing a teeth and the crown is mounted over it. No need to alter the structure of a healthy tooth.
• Convenient: Since dental implants are fixed in place, you don’t have to constantly remove them and take special care of them. This makes them a lot more convenient than dentures.
• Success: A tooth implant is a highly successful procedure with a 98% success rate. 

• Expensive: Dental implants are more expensive than dental crowns and dental bridges. And they’re far more expensive than dentures.
• Surgery: Dental implants require surgery as the posts have to be lodged into your bone structure.
• Time-Consuming: The entire procedure can take several months to complete, so it’s not an immediate procedure.

There are two safe types of dental implants available — endosteal and subperiosteal implants.

Endosteal Implants

Endosteal Implants require two rounds of surgeries. During the first, the tooth implant is lodged into the jawbone. During the second, the post is connected to the implant. Finally, the dental crown or bridge can be mounted on the post.

Subperiosteal Implants

Subperiosteal Implants is a procedure in which a metal frame and post is attached to the jawbone and then a prosthetic tooth is attached to the implant.

An affordable dental implants procedure includes the following steps:

• General examination of your teeth by the dentist to assess if you’re a suitable candidate for dental implants.
• The dentist attaches a titanium post to the missing tooth’s socket during the first surgery. After the surgery, you have to rest for approximately 12 weeks while the jawbone grows around the lodged post.
• During the second surgery, the dentist will attach a small post to the implant in order to hold the dental crown.
• The dentist takes an impression of your teeth using a dental mold. This mold captures the size, shape, and alignment of your teeth so that the dentist can prepare the perfect tooth. While the crown is prepared — which can take two weeks — the dentist will give you a temporary dental crown.
• Once the dental crown is prepared, it will be attached to the connector post or abutment. It will look and act like your actual teeth and no one will be able to tell the difference.

Tooth implants are the most expensive types of replacement for your teeth. A single tooth implant varies depending on your treatment plan. However, dental implants can last a lifetime and it’s a one-time cost so most people find it to be worth it. You should also note that dental implants are rarely covered by insurance so you’ll likely have to pay for it out-of-pocket.