Dental Implants: Types, Pain, Cost

A dental implant is an artificial root actually a small screw that is usually made of titanium. Your dentist has embedded it (or them) in the jawbone and provided it to connect to dental prostheses, which replace a missing tooth (or teeth). https://en.webdento.com/dental-implants-cost/

If your one or more teeth have been damaged or lost, you could be a candidate for dental implants. Although dental implants can be used for multiple teeth or the entire jaw, it is mainly used to replace a single missing tooth, which, in most cases, is a premolar or a molar tooth. Front teeth or incisors are lost or extracted less frequently than molars.

Dental implants became a standard dental treatment in recent years, with many dental clinics advising them to their customers. Getting a dental implant within just a few years gained massive popularity and is not perceived any more as a very expensive or radical dental surgery.

However, many people still do not have enough information to undergo a tooth implant procedure. They often do not know how a dental implant work or how to do a ‘dentures vs. implants’ comparison look like. They get lost in dental implant types and have a hard time learning dental implant prices.

This article is focused on dental implants in order to make the operation seem more familiar to patients who never experienced the dental implant procedure.

READ: How Much Does a Dental Implant Cost?

 

How Does a Dental Implant Work?

A dental implant (or simply a tooth implant) is usually made of titanium. The lower part of the dental implant reminds of a screw and is placed instead of a plucked tooth root. Dental implants serve as a platform, to which dentists attach a dental crown made of porcelain or zirconia. The tooth implant procedure is a safe dental treatment, offering an effect closely resembling natural teeth.

Properly conducted tooth implant procedure guarantees years of satisfaction and good oral cavity health, since titanium, zirconia and porcelain do not affect remaining teeth and do not enter into any dangerous chemical reactions. However, you should care for your implant after your procedure, the same way you care for your natural teeth. It is also important to have a regular checkup with your dentist every six months. Your dentist will check your implant, abutment, and crown fittings and if there are any issues with their alignment in your follow-up visits.

Dental Implant Procedure

A dental implant procedure usually has two stages. In the first stage, the dentist installs the dental implant itself into the jawbone. This surgical stage is usually conducted under local anesthesia, although some patients such as children and people with a severe phobia may require general anesthesia.

In the second and last stage, as it can be guessed the dentist attaches a dental crown to the dental implant. Once this process is done, the dental implant procedure is finished, and you become free to go home.

As for the time between the two parts of the dental implant surgery, it depends on your doctor and the material used to create a dental crown. Some dental crowns require a few months since they are usually shipped from specialized facilities. Additionally, the operation site needs to heal. However, some materials such as CEREC allow patients to get a dental implant in one day without a second visit. This way of getting a dental implant is especially practical for people who work a lot and cannot spare time to visit a dental clinic twice in the same week.

If your jawbone is too thin or soft to be a foundation for the implant, you will probably need a bone graft procedure within your dental implants process. Bone graft is basically to take bone from somewhere in your body, usually your chin or hip, then to place it in your jawbone. This is an often-used procedure for your implant has enough bone to fuse to and be supported by. Although it is often, bone grafts are not always necessary for dental implants.

READ: Choosing a Dentist for Dental Implants

Dentures vs. Implants

When it comes to choosing which one is the best in the ‘dentures vs. implants’ battle, there is no easy answer. Dentures may be a good solution for people with many missing teeth and weakened jawbone which may not be able to support a dental implant placed into it. Additionally, dentures are cheaper though their life is two times shorter than that of tooth implants that they need to be remade or replaced.

Surprisingly, sometimes instead of ‘dentures vs. implants’, we can say ‘dentures and implants’ for a few implants may be used as a support for partial dentures.

Dental implant procedure results in long-lasting, stable, natural feeling and natural looking teeth but is more expensive than dentures, especially when more than one tooth is in the game. Still, decreasing dental implant costs lead many people to reconsider the dental implant surgery.

Are Dental Implants Painful?

Though the tooth implant procedure may be painful, the pain is blocked by local or general anesthesia. Later on, the pain fades, and patients with dental implants do not complain about pain unless something went wrong in the tooth implant process.

Apart from pain, there are other side effects or risks of dental implants such as swelling, bleeding, infection, nerve disturbance or implant failure.

It is important to be aware of all the dental implant risks and other pros and cons before undergoing the procedure, for you to feel safer and more comfortable.

Types of Dental Implants

Dental implant types are related mostly to how many stages of a procedure are required to finish the tooth implant process. As for this, we’ve got one-stage and two-stage dental implant surgery. Additionally, the purpose for which the tooth implant procedure was performed is an important factor. As for this aspect, we’ve got two types of dental implants. In the first one, dental implant surgery is performed in order to place on it a dental crown. In the other type of tooth implant procedure, the dental implant will serve as a platform for dentures.

Dental Implant Costs

As for dental implant prices, we highly recommend you find a surgeon with experience. Dental implant surgery requires highly improved surgeon skills since during the surgery, the dentist deals with living tissue, nerves, and blood vessels. Therefore, the cost of dental implant surgery can change depending on the dentist’s skills. While you are searching for a good dentist, you need to reach his or her dental implant reviews and before and after images belonging to his or her previous patients.
Besides, since every individual’s treatment will be unique, the cost of dental implant procedures will be different according to every treatment.

There is another fact that you shouldn’t forget; dental tourism. Dental tourism allows patients to have dental implant surgery in another country for more affordable prices. The reasons are simple. Not every country has high labor cost, expensive laboratory cost or highly expensive materials.

Therefore, you may be surprised when you see outstanding clinics with skillful dentists and staff abroad offering much lower prices for your dental treatment. In fact, most of the time these kinds of clinics such as the very well-equipped clinics in Istanbul offer you a lot of services such as help with accommodation, transportation between the airport and your place to stay and translation since they have been working with international patients all the time. So, if you are looking for affordable prices, you might want to check options in nearby countries or overseas.

READ: Best Dental Implants in Turkey – Real Savings

Does Insurance Cover Dental Implants?

Some insurance companies have started to provide some coverage. Ask your insurance company and speak with your dentist about payment options or any further information, before making your arrangements on finance.