The loss of one or more natural teeth is an unpleasant and disabling event that can damage the mouth and smile both from a functional and an aesthetic point of view. Fortunately, the remedies for replacing natural teeth with artificial ones have evolved, thanks to the advent of dental implantology.
In the past, the restoration of the missing tooth involved the application of fixed prostheses that were fixed inside the mouth adjacent to the missing teeth through dental crowns and bridges. Later came partially or totally removable prostheses, which were often a temporary solution.
Today, thanks to the development of new dental implantology techniques the loss of teeth can be treated with fixed prostheses. These have proved to be a permanent and effective solution that can last for a lifetime.
What is a dental implant?
A dental implant is a fixed prosthesis that is used to cover a gap of one or more missing teeth. This prosthesis is designed to assume the function of the natural root of the tooth on which the ceramic capsule is then applied.
There are many advantages of getting dental implants not only in terms of aesthetics but also for oral health. After a successful procedure, patients can talk and smile normally, restoring their self-confidence. At the same time, the patient can chew food more efficiently which benefits digestion and health of the entire oral cavity. Dental implants are therefore one of the best solutions for all those who have lost one or more teeth due to various causes, such as periodontal diseases or dental trauma.
How do dental implants work?
The dental implant acts as a base for the placement of the prosthetic tooth. In this way the patient can go back to eating, talking, and smiling normally, without the feeling of a foreign object inside the mouth. To further promote osseointegration and minimize the risk of the body rejecting the implant, the latest dental implants use advanced biocompatible materials.
For the endosseous screw, the most popular material today is titanium as it responds to those characteristics of biocompatibility that allow to reduce the risk of rejection trauma and favor complete integration between the implant and the bone. As for the prosthetic tooth, this is usually made of ceramic. This is a particularly hard and resistant material that looks very similar to a natural tooth.