Dental Implant
What is dental implant?
Dental implants are artificial roots made of titanium on the gum bone of the missing tooth, and placing artificial dental crowns on the implant. Since titanium is high bio-compatible, it will not be rejected by the body and anchor at the jaw bone firmly. Normally after 3-6 months of healing, the artificial roots will be fused with the gum bone, supporting normal chewing action of the artificial tooth.
Frequently asked questions
What is minimally invasive dental implant surgery?
“Minimally invasive” refers to minimizing the trauma brought by surgery, reducing patients’ discomfort. Minimally invasive dental implant surgery is theoretically similar to dental implant. Through pre-op CT, doctors can assess the condition of the gum bone of the missing tooth. Therefore only a small incision has to be made on the gum, so barely no suture will be required. As a result, pain and recovery time can be significantly reduced.
How long can the implant last?
Dental implant has been used on human being since 1965. After over 40 years of clinical trials, thousands of patients have received this treatment, about 85% of patients have dental implants that lasted over 15 years. Duration of each dental implants varies, smoking, oral condition, the use of the dentures, and other factors all affect the performance of the dentures. Dental implant is considerably durable if it is used properly with regular follow-up and maintenance.
Am I suitable for dental implants?
In general, as long as you are a physically compatible adult, you are suitable for dental implants. There was once a patient over 90 years of age who had a successful dental implant surgery. Our center has also performed a complete tooth replacement surgery for numerous patients at the age of over 80.
For patients with hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases or any chronic illness, depending on the severity, when the condition is stable, dental implant is still suitable.
Do my wisdom teeth need to be removed?
Most wisdom teeth fail to erupt properly, or are blocked by the teeth in front. This is known as impacted teeth. It may cause pain, or no feeling at all in years.
Though no pain or discomfort has been caused by your wisdom teeth so far, after certain period of time (eg. After the age of 60), dental problems can still be caused. The most common problems are dental caries, infection, over-crowding, permanent damage to other teeth, or even more severe complications, such as cysts that cause permanent damage to the bone, teeth and nerves.
Most patients appear to be asymptomatic when it occurs, and it has deteriorated to a severe stage when the problem was discovered. Thus the risk of complications is relatively higher. Therefore, in Europe and the US, doctors believe that “preventive extraction of wisdom teeth” is effective to patients and routinely carry out such treatments for teenagers aged around 18.
If your wisdom teeth has caused you the above problems, please consult a qualified dentist for wisdom teeth extraction. Normally dentists would suggest a removal of wisdom teeth on either both or single side.
