A recent breakthrough in the dental field is the development and successful application of dental implants. Since its appearance, the procedure, due to many advantages, proved itself worthy of further use. It then continued to establish a steady position among other rising procedures in the past few years. Still all the different variables included in the procedure arouse doubt and resentment amid some dental practitioners. The matter continues to be a massive controversy between the dental practitioners everywhere around the globe. The following essay will be explaining the nature of dental implants, the many advantages of dental implants compared to other alternatives, and the solutions – or justifications – of dental implants disadvantages, in addition to a few helping tips on how to care for dental implants, and some general tips considering the procedure.

A dental implant is defined by the ADA (American Dental Association) as “a device specially designed to be placed surgically within or on the mandibular or maxillary bone as a means of providing for dental replacement”. The implant usually has a titanium base that is in physical relation to the bone of the jaw and that provides support for the other tooth-like prosthetic part of the implant, called a crown. Implants have many types, they are prepared in different ways, and they are made out of a wide variety of materials.

In order to understand the positive and negative sides of dental implants, one has to be at least mildly familiar with the mechanism of creating and administrating a dental implant. First, dental implants are used at the cases where teeth loss is found. Teeth loss, also medically referred to as edentulism, can be caused by trauma or disease. Edentulism can lead to physical disfiguration and function disabilities. Thus for, the patient’s case has to be assessed. Then based on the assessment, a course of treatment is set by the dental practitioner. After that, the dentist has to compare then choose one of two types of dental implants, an endosteal implant, which is fused directly into the bone; and a superiosteal implant which is stabled on the bone by being fixed to adjacent teeth, the second type is used at the case of bone loss. The Final Step is a group of small steps called the procedure complementary steps. Complementary steps include minor procedures, such as, modelling a tooth crown, monitoring bone response to the implant, and scheduling follow ups on the next four to six months.

Now, among the numerous positive sides of dental implants, the following advantages represent themselves as the most important. Dental implants recover the natural appearance of the patient’s face. It is due to their characteristics that imitate the natural teeth features, characteristics like their availability in all the different shades of colours, and all the different sizes, dental implants may up to now represent the perfect replacements for lost teeth. Moreover, because of their capability of binding to the bone of the jaw, dental implants return the ability to chew properly, and restore the basic tooth function.

An additional vital advantage of dental implants’ ability to bind to the jaw bone is that they become fixed and stable inside the oral cavity, due to that there is no need to worry about them moving or loosening. Dental implants capability to bind to the jaw also offers a chance to use them in other supplementary procedures. For example, implants can be used as bases for temporary removable dentures, or implant supported dentures.

Alongside these two advantages, dental implants improve patient’s speech Ability. Teeth loss affects the tongue by providing gaps that the tongue can slip through, that affects the pronunciation of some letters, and leads to speech difficulties. Dental implants represent a solution to that problem because they fill in those gaps, restoring by that action the capability of speech, and saving the patient any embarrassment.

Another point of view in favour of dental implants is the wide range of usage. It is because of the new high tech procedures, dental professionals are now able to replace several or all of a patient’s natural teeth by dental implants. Another related advantage is the wide selective range. Dentists have ability to administrate a dental implantation on almost any patient with a healthy oral cavity and enough jaw bone. Even in cases of not having enough bone a bone graft method can be used to grow and regenerate jaw bone.

Furthermore, dental implants are very durable and convenient compared to other alternative treatments and procedures. The alternatives include a variety of other treatments, such as, removable and fixed dentures. These alternatives resolve most of the problems caused by teeth loss. Yet, they do not succeed in matching the dental implants method. For instance, dentures are made of acrylic, cast metal, flexible plastic for base part of the denture, and plastic or porcelain for the teeth part of it. Those materials may irritate the gum and the tissues of oral cavity, cause an allergic reaction, and in many cases the pressure of those materials can lead to bone disintegration or gingival retraction. These side effects of dentures may lead to more teeth loss. On the other side, dental implants are made of a titanium screw like base, which is a metal that is well-suited with the human body. Besides all that, Titanium screws stimulate bone growth. That is one of the major advantages of titanium as a dental material. Because stimulating bone growth does not only help with implants, but it also raises the general oral health condition.

When it comes to convenience, dental implants persist to prove their superiority to their alternatives by being very rigid and stable. Their stability generates from the previously mentioned fact that dental implants are planted into the bone with the help of a tooth like artificial root that supports them. That characteristic cancels the chance of producing clicking sounds that a removable denture tends to cause while patients talk or eat.

Additionally, dentures, because of their low resistance, are affected by the natural wear factors of the oral cavity. Those factors include: biting pressure, and saliva acidity. The reoccurring exposure to these factors can lead to the disfiguring of the denture’s surface by the appearance of pits or fissures. Those disfigured dentures act as an encouraging environment for germs and bacteria, leading to carries and infections. But dental implants are specially designed to overcome these factors, and react to them just as natural teeth.

Dentures also need to be remodelled with time to fit the aging jaw bone and gum. That disadvantage costs additional waste of time and money, and additional discomfort. In contrast to dentures, dental implants can last a life time if the patient took care of them properly.

One more thing is that dental implants, though their procedures can be very complicated, cause no pain. Dentists noticed that pain reported due to the procedure of dental implants is less than pain reported due to teeth extraction. They also noticed that dental implants have a very high successful rate of 96%. Apart from that and according to an online poll conducted by the AAP (American Academy of Periodontists), people are in favour of getting dental implants, no matter what age group they belong to. The same academy offers more polls showing that people with current implant are relatively much more satisfied than people with other kinds of restoratives. The cause of such response from the patients is that they feel that dental implants has merged with the oral cavity, which means a dental implant feels just like a natural tooth, not like a foreign matter inside the mouth.

The opponents’ point of view states that dental implants are an unnecessary and complicated procedure. Their first argument is that dental implants are very expensive. A complete denture costs 300$ and the cost may in some cases increase up to 2,500$, wherein a single dental implant can cost anything between 2,000$ and 4,500 $. The high cost means that many of patients will not have the financial means to afford a dental implant.

They also argue the fact that dental implants are time consuming. A denture takes around four to six weeks to be ready and fixed, while a dental implant procedure may prolong to more than five months, due to the included bone graph procedure.

Another opponent opinion is that dental implants can be a very risky method. The dental implant procedure is an incisive procedure that includes anaesthesia, tissue cutting, and a chance of post operative infection, and when comparing that kind of procedure to a safe procedure like dentures, dental implants show a high margin of error and thus for are considered very risky.

Opponents consider these three disadvantages sufficient to condemn dental implants to be useless, but when taking a closer look it appears otherwise. Dental implants are not expensive considering they last a life time. So instead of getting a denture than needs replacement and remodelling, getting a single life time implant is considered more money saving. The long period of procedure time is considered short compared to the denture short remodelling periods combined, and the recent advance in safety and protective methods reduced the risk included in dental implants procedure to its minimum. One very good example of the rapid progression of safety measures is conscious sedation. Conscious sedation puts the patient in a relaxed analgesic state, with eliminating neither consciousness nor cooperativeness. This leaves the patient awareness intact during the procedure, which allows the practitioners to have more helpful factors too.

Much of the opponent views spring out of the misunderstanding of the dental implants concept. Dental implants are still considered a cosmetic procedure not a traditional treatment. In the cosmetic field it is only ordinary to go through many difficulties, such as, the long periods of time, and the high cost in order to achieve the desired outcome. Dental implants provide an elective treatment instead of a necessary one, and in that kind of treatment one cannot consider it a disadvantage to pay large amounts of money, or to wait months for the wanted outcome.

Once the dental implanting procedure is done, one needs not to forget to constantly take care of the implants. They need to be brushed and flossed just like natural teeth, and one should not forget to schedule regular follow ups. Another tip is that right after the procedure is done, anaesthesia lasts for about 3 hours, in which the patient should avoid chewing to evade any tongue and gum damage.

Furthermore, ice packs can be administered in case of gum swelling, and it is better to hold back on smoking and drinking for a few days before and after the dental implantation. It is also advised to avoid administering excessive pressure during the few first days after the procedure.

Some professionals also prefer to have annual X-Rays or CAT scans. These annual X-Rays and CAT scans help in discovering any abnormalities a dental implant may cause. Because abnormalities like tumours, sinus augmentation, or bone not facilitating or accepting the dental implant has been reported in rare cases. But in general it is not to worry about the matter because tests are usually done before the implantation.

A slight misfortune to be noted is that medical insurance companies still consider dental implants as a low priority procedure. That means most of the public’s medical insurance companies will not cover the expenses of these implants. But under a certain criteria most companies do offer a small amount of funding.

In conclusion, dental implants offer the most suitable replacement for teeth loss. Moreover, in many cases the procedure proved itself to represent the perfect solution. With times and with the help of the rapid improvement in the dental field, getting a dental implant will grow to be a basic, a very easy, and a widely spread method of treatment.

Sources:

http://www.ada.org

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/dental-implants

http://www.qualitydentistry.com/dental/implants/types.html

Tischler, M. Dental implants: ideal tooth replacement.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, public health network

Academy report. Dental Implants in Periodontal Therapy