In many ways, dental implant technology has completely revolutionized restorative dentistry. This technology allows our team to do more than ever before for patients who are suffering from tooth loss.
In this short article, our Saint Louis dental implant dentists are discussing three different ways that we utilize dental implant technology in our office. Let’s get started!
Individual Replacement Teeth
Full-sized dental implants are often utilized as stand-alone replacement teeth; one dental implant replaces a single missing tooth. Every stand-alone dental implant has its own titanium root, which is then capped with a customized restoration. The titanium root of the dental implant is embedded in the jawbone, in the precise place where the natural tooth root used to sit.
Mini Dental Implants
Titanium implant roots also come in thinner “mini” sizes. These roots are less invasive for the jawbone tissue when inserted, and thus they require very minimal post-treatment healing time. Mini dental implants can be used to place individual replacement teeth in areas of with low jawbone density. Mini dental implant roots are also used in the final restorative option we’re going to talk about…
Implant Stabilized Prosthetics
Strategically placed dental implant roots can actually be used to permanently anchor larger dental prosthetics, like dentures. The dental implant roots we use will be outfitted with special caps that are designed to fit into sockets in the base of your denture. Once the denture is in place, it stays in place permanently—24/7. Many dental patients love implant-stabilized dentures because they look and feel more natural than traditional dentures. This treatment is sometimes called “All-on-4” because an entire denture (or all of your teeth) can be held in place with just 4 dental implant roots.
If you want to learn more about how our Saint Louis restorative dentists use dental implants to replace teeth, please feel free to reach out to our dental team. You can call our team to get started, or use the Contact Us page on our website in order to submit a question and your contact information.