I have been learning about dentistry since 1982 when I entered dental school. At that time dental implants were considered to be a very successful procedure. It was not uncommon to have success rates of over 80% in a 20 year time span. For any dental procedure a success rate like this is difficult to attain; so dental implants are highly successful. Today we can expect success rates to be up to 95% with advancements that have been made.
The use of dental implants is quite varied and flexible. An implant can be used to replace a single tooth. Several implants may be used to replace three to four teeth. Multiple dental implants can be used to support and retain a partial denture or a full denture. In this case the dentures or partial dentures can be made new or they can be existing appliances that can be modified to attach to the dental implants.
As far as the duration of treatment, in some cases extractions must be done first for those teeth that may be too damaged to repair. At the time of extraction a grafting procedure may be needed to maintain the height of the jaw bone in the area. Following up to four months the implant may be placed if it was not done on the day of extraction. Following the placement of the dental implant we must wait another 2-4 months for the jaw bone to attach, or biointegrate, to the implant. At that time the implant may be “loaded”, or may then be used to replace the missing teeth.
If you have any questions about this or have an interest in pursuing dental implants we invite you to contact us by calling (972) 250-2580, or by contacting us in a manner you choose from the options illustrated on this page.
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