Are Dental Implants Right For You?

Dental implants, while a good choice for many patients, aren’t always the best option. The critical factors in determining suitability are general health and the health and density of the available bone. If it is determined that implants are not a good option for you, other options for restoration will be suggested. If, however, it is determined that implants are a good choice for you, there are a lot of decisions to be made.

Dental implants have altered the landscape of modern dentistry in many ways, but implants are not all created alike.
The first major difference between implants in in materials. The two primary materials used today are titanium and zirconia. Titanium has the advantage of having been around and used for medical purposes for a long time. Having been around for so long, there are a lot of companies that make titanium implants, so they are readily available. Titanium’s major disadvantage is that it is a metal, though it is considered more biocompatible than stainless steel.

As an alternative to titanium, zirconia is considered to be more biocompatible. At this time, zirconia has a number of disadvantages. First is that it hasn’t been around as long, so the options are limited. Zirconia implants are significantly larger than titanium implants, making their placement more invasive. Finally, they frequently require reshaping with a bur so they can fit properly, a process that creates the potential for microfractures. When zirconia implants become small enough to overcome these disadvantages, I will be adding them to my practice.
At one time, it was thought that larger implants would last longer and be more reliable than smaller ones, but current research has shown otherwise. Still, implants vary widely in size.
Implants also vary in how the components fit together. In some cases, the crown is cemented to the implant, in others it is screwed on. Sometimes, the crown simply clicks in, a connection known as a cold weld.

In my office, when it is decided that an implant is an appropriate option, we typically go with a very small, and therefore less invasive, titanium implant with a layer of biocompatible ceramic material. The implant is placed and allowed to integrate. Once the bone has adequately assimilated the implant, the abutment (connector) and crown are attached. In my experience, the implant integrates well about 95% of the time.

Though the implants I recommend are much smaller than conventional implants, they are more reliable and less invasive than conventional implants. Their smaller size reduces the need for surgical interventions such as sinus lifts and bone grafts to allow the implant to be placed. The smaller size also reduces postoperative pain and discomfort.