What are dental implants?
A dental implant is a small, titanium post or screw that is surgically placed within your jawbone beneath your gum line. This screw will fuse to your jawbone, which in turn creates a stable foundation for your tooth restoration.
Parts of a dental implant
- Implant body:- It is a titanium post or screw that is implanted into the jawbone.
- Abutment:- It is a small connector that sits between the implant & the prosthetic (crown).
- Prosthetic:- It is the visible portion of the implant that can either be a dental crown, bridge or removable denture.
When can you place dental implants?
- Replacing a single missing tooth using a single dental implant
- Replacing multiple missing teeth with multiple dental implants & implant supported bridge over it.
- Replacing all your missing teeth with implant retained denture.
Benefits of dental implants
- Restores chewing function as close as to chewing with natural teeth
- Prevents bone loss
- Improves cosmetic appearance – matches your natural teeth
- Fixed prosthesis
- Keeps surrounding bone & gums healthy
How is a dental implant placed?
A dental implant is placed under local anesthesia. It is carried out as a keyhole procedure by our experts at Aesthetica Dental Implant Centre, which is the least invasive technique to place implants with no cuts & no stitches. Also with a keyhole implant there is very mild or no bleeding observed.
However, in some rare cases it might require to cut open the gums and then place the implants followed by suturing.
What to expect after dental implant procedure?
The whole process during the placement of a dental implant is painless. However one can expect some post surgical pain, swelling & discomfort for next 5-7 days which can be controlled with over the counter medications.
Post surgical precautions to be followed
- Do not spit or rinse your mouth for 24 hours post surgery as this would lead to more bleeding.
- Avoid using a straw to drink anything for the first 24 hours after the procedure.
- Avoid eating hard and sharp foods for 2 weeks.
- Avoid lying down on the side of the operated area.
- Apply ice pack from outside intermittently over the area of surgery for the 1st 8-12 hours of the surgery.
- Warm salt water mouth rinse, at least 4 times a day after the first 24 hours.
- Avoid smoking & alcohol as it causes delayed healing.
- Avoid swimming & going to a gym for 48 hours.
- Take medicines as prescribed.
We at Aesthetica, Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata have a team of experts who specialize in keyhole implant surgery and we are very well equipped with all the latest technologies required for dental implant placement.