Dental Implants

 

Dental implants are by far the most latest, versatile and advanced treatment options for replacing a missing tooth in the mouth. 

Your natural tooth has two portions, one embedded inside the bone called as the root and the one outside the gums visible in the mouth called the Crown. (FIG: 1)

The implant replaces the root portion of the teeth, so it’s like a natural tooth arising from the gums. (refer image). An artificial cap/crown is placed above the implant which mimics your natural tooth crown. 

Dental Implants are nothing but artificially implanted tooth in the mouth in places where you have lost your teeth.

Dental implants are usually made up of an alloy of Titanium. 

As Dental implant cost in Mumbai is coming down, more and more patients are opting for this treatment option.

 

Is Dental Implant for me?

If you are physically fit and have no underlying medical problems which hamper implant healing, a dental implant can be placed for you irrespective of your age.

If there are no medical limitations a call is taken on whether to place an implant or not depending on the following factors-

Amount of bone available – 

As all implants are placed within bone, this is the most important determining factor. The amount of available bone is studied by making Intraoral X rays and 3D CT scans of your jaw bone. (FIG: 2)

In these scans the exact volume of available bone i.e. the length, width and height can be calculated. Depending on these values the dimension and placement of the implant is decided.

What if the bone available for a dental implant is insufficient or less??

If the bone is slightly deficient artificial bone grafting is done at the site at the time of implant placement to increase the bone volume and then the implant is placed. ( FIG 3 )

If the bone is considerably deficient bone expansion with grafting is considered. 

In case the amount of bone is extremely deficient then other treatment options are considered apart from implants.

 

Oral health and physical condition-

If you have poor health and even after regular clean-ups and motivation you aren’t able to maintain an acceptable level of oral hygiene then implants may not be advisable for you until your oral health improves.

Also, physical fitness is required before any sort of surgical procedure is undertaken like implants.

 

Smoking and Diabetes

If you have uncontrolled diabetes, are a chain smoker or Smoke a few cigarettes a day then dental implants are not recommended for you until the diabetes is under control or you are willing to quit or reduce your smoking for at least 3 to 4 months.

The chances of failure of implants are high if implants are placed in the above situations.

If you have a single tooth or multiple teeth missing due to any reason like trauma, injury, tooth decay, accident or ageing; then World Smiles dental center is the destination for you. 

We have a team of the best Implantologist and oral surgeons in Mumbai. 

We are among the top 10 dentists in Mumbai offering world-class dental implants solutions.

 

How is the dental implant procedure done?

The entire procedure for dental implants is usually done in two stages. The stages might be done within a time span of 2 to 6 months depending on the case. 

 

Stage 1

In this stage, the titanium implant screw is placed inside your jaw bone. The entire procedure is done under Local anaesthesia so the implant placement is painless. Depending on the number of implants to be placed and whether bone grafting is required, a cut in the gums is made and stitches are placed.

The implants are covered with gums immediately after placement. This helps in healing and also the area appears just like before placement as if nothing was done.

Placing a Single Implant may take as little as 30 minutes and complex surgeries requiring multiple implants may require 2-3 hours also. (FIG 4)

After the implant placement, we send you home with a temporary cap or denture so that your smile is restored immediately.

Thus enabling us to give you single day implants and caps. 

 

Stage 2

This is known as the uncovery stage when the submerged implant is accessed by making a small opening in the gums for fixing the final permanent caps. If temporary caps have been fixed before the opening is already present. 

This stage is done after 2 to 6 months time after placement. The waiting period depends on a number of factors.

After uncovery, measurements are made to fix the final caps or bridge. 

The measurements are sent to the lab for fabrication of beautiful life-like caps. The fabrication process usually takes about a week or so after which you get the final caps.

 

The technology used for dental implants

We use world leaders in dental implant manufacturers for our patients. The few top companies are Nobel Bio-care, Osstem, Straumann, Bio-horizons and Dentium.

 

Cost of Dental Implant in Mumbai

The cost of dental implants in Mumbai has drastically reduced in the last few years with a wide variety of companies now available. At World Smiles dental center we provide affordable yet best quality dental implants to our patients with vast experience in placing over 500 implants.

 

Tips and instructions for dental implant care

Buying the best or an expensive car doesn’t mean you can just buy and forget it..! It needs to be checked and maintained periodically and taken good care off. 

Likewise putting the best implant doesn’t mean that your teeth or implant will never spoil again. They too need meticulous care and maintenance along with periodic check-up with the dentist.

 

Immediately after implant placement during the healing phase- 

1. Take soft and bland diet like dal, rice, pasta, yoghurt etc for the first few days.
2. Take your medications on time and till advised.
3. An hour after surgery have something cold like an ice-cream or chilled juice or smoothie.
4. Apply ice pack from outside the mouth in the region of the implant surgery on the day of implant placement.
5. Use mouthwash from the next day regularly to keep the area clean and infection-free. 
6. You may start brushing after a couple of days gently in the region of implant placement too.
7. Avoid sleeping on the side of implant placement for a couple of days.
8. Don’t chew from the side in which the implant is placed for a few days.
9. After 1 week the dentist will remove your stitches.
10. Take lots of fluids and fresh fruit juices, it helps in healing the wound fast.
11. Do not smoke for at least 10-15 days and avoid smoking as much as possible until the second stage of implant placement.

 

Implant care after final caps and bridges

The gums around the implant and the bone are very important for the long term success and life of implants. Both of which you can maintain at optimum level following the below tips and instructions for dental implant –

 

1. Regular brushing twice a day with the right technique as instructed by the dentist and use of mouthwash twice daily is paramount to maintaining good oral health and peri-implant gum health.
2. Use of Water-flosser is also very essential in maintaining implant health and care.
3. Regular conventional flossing is important to prevent cavities in adjacent natural teeth.
4. Sometimes if larger gaps are present below implant caps and bridge, use of Interdental brush (Proxabrush) is also very helpful in removing food particles and plaque.
5. Eat healthy foods like green leafy vegetables, fruits and salads. They contain a lot of fibre which helps in self-cleansing of mouth from stuck food material.
6. Consume a lot of dairy products like milk, curd, paneer, cheese etc to increase the intake of calcium and proteins which are essential for good bone formation around implants
7. Drink plenty of water before and after meals so the unwanted food particles are flushed out.
8. Limit the consumption of acidic foods and beverages like tea, coffee, fizzy drinks and aerated drinks.
9. Limit the consumption of sticky foods like candies, chocolates, biscuits, chips etc.
10. Avoid biting fingernails, pens cap, pencils etc and avoid using your teeth to open bottles or to tear packets.
11. And most importantly visit your dentist every 6 months for a check-up to have a thorough evaluation and to nip problems in the bud before they become bigger and more complex.

 

Failures in Dental Implants

Implants are made of alloys of titanium which are one of the most biocompatible materials known to science. They do not produce any adverse reaction in the body. If planned correctly implants have a 95-99% success rate. 

However being a foreign body inserted in the jaws, on rare occasions it might be rejected by the body.

Implants may fail due to: 

1. Infection
2. Poor medical and oral health
3. Poor bone quality
4. Excessive smoking
5. Improper planning
6. Excessive load and stresses.

In early failure, your dentist will remove the failed implant and place a new one without an additional cost if all factors are fine.