Understanding The Various Types Of Dental Implants And How They Can Help You

27 Mar Understanding The Various Types Of Dental Implants And How They Can Help You

Dental implants can improve your quality of life if you have lost or damaged teeth. Usually cast from titanium, there are more than 40 different types of dental implants available on the market and, depending on your particular case there are likely to be a variety of different options to help you feel more confident, enjoy chewing your food again and improve the appearance of your facial contours and tissues.

Let’s take a look at the different kinds of implants out there and how they could benefit you.

What are single dental implants?

If you are only missing one tooth you will have a single implant embedded to replace it. Because there is a healing period that lasts between three and six months you are likely to need a temporary implant in the implant site.

Dental implants can have a very high success rate and one of the reasons they are so popular is they can match the rest of your teeth so closely in form and function, provide a higher degree of comfort than other replacement procedures and are very long lasting when they are well cared for.

Endosteal implants

Endosteal implants are embedded into your jaw. They are usually cylindrical in shape and look like small screws.

Subperiosteal implants

In the event that you do not have enough bone tissue to support an endosteal implant, you may be a candidate for subperiosteal implants. These types of implants are fitted under your gum but above or on top of your jaw.

Transosteal dental implants

Transosteal dental implants are a much less common procedure, whereby a u-shaped frame is attached to the jaw bone. Replacement teeth are fitted into the frame after it has healed. This procedure is typically more expensive than endosteal and subperiosteal implants and because there is a lot of drilling involved, it is only viable if you have a very healthy jawbone.

Zygomatic dental implants

Perhaps one of the rarest types of dental implants zygomatic implants are fitted when you do not have enough jawbone, and the cheekbone is used to provide support for your implants.

Mini implants

Mini implants are very similar to standard implants except they are much smaller. They are especially useful when replacing small front teeth or when the spaces between teeth are too small to accommodate standard implants. Mini implants are also often adopted as temporary solutions for missing teeth.

They cannot tolerate the same degree of wear and tear as conventional implants though and should not be used to replace missing molars.

Bridges and fixed bridges

A few teeth missing in a row can be replaced by a bridge that is supported by dental implants. Two dental implants can provide enough support for three or four missing teeth, and they can also prevent a number of issues that arise when dentures are resting directly on your gums.

Still have questions about the different types of dental implants on offer from Smile Gallery Dental? Give us a call to discuss your options today: (03) 8595 2632 .