A Few Procedures You May Require Before Getting Dental Implants
Posted on: 4 October 2016
If you are missing some teeth and considering having dental implants, your dentist may require you have work done to your jaw bone or sinus area before the implants can be started. One of the most common problems is not having enough bone to hold the titanium posts securely in place. Another issue is not having a high enough bone before the sinuses in your cheek area. There are procedures that can be done to rectify these issues that results in roughly 95 percent of all implant procedures succeeding.
Bone Graft
The teeth in your mouth push on the bones that hold them in place as you chew, stimulating them to remain strong and dense. Unfortunately, when teeth are lost or missing, the bone in the area they were is not stimulated and starts to disintegrate. This is why it is important that you talk with your dentist as soon as possible after losing a tooth to discuss how to replace it. If you decide to go with an implant, the sooner the better. If, however, you wait until the bone starts to disintegrate, you may need to have additional bone material grafted to yours. This could be bone from a cadaver, synthetic bone, or a piece taken from elsewhere in your body. Once the bone graft is complete and healed, you can have the implant procedure.
Sinus Lift
When the problem with bone density or height is in the back, upper portion of your jaw, you may need to have a sinus lift before having a bone graft. During this procedure, the sinus membrane is lifted, folded and stitched into place. Bone material is then grafted to the upper jaw, providing a solid base for the implant. The sinus membrane will rest upon this new bone. The added height to the bone will keep the implant from penetrating into the sinus cavity and causing sinus problems like infections.
Once you have the bone height and density for the implants, you should not have any trouble with them. The implant post will stimulate the bone the way your teeth did originally and keep things dense and secure. As long as you continue with proper dental hygiene, you should not have any issues with your implants. Be sure to visit your dentist regularly and contact him or her if you find you are having pain in the area of the surgery. As with any tooth, there is the risk of infection if food particles and/or bacteria gets into the gums.
For more information about these procedures, talk to a dentist at the Dental Services Of Rochester.
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