Patients who have lost a tooth/teeth often do not like the idea of having a removable prosthesis in their mouths. Dental implants are the most common and popular treatment option when you have a missing tooth. An implant is inserted in the jaw where the tooth is missing. The implant integrates with bone and becomes the “root” of the new artificial tooth. A porcelain crown accurately attaches to the implant providing you with a new natural looking artificial tooth.

Implantology is the discipline of dentistry where a missing or lost tooth can be replaced effectively.

An implant is a titanium insert surgically placed in the jaw where a tooth was missing/has been lost. The implant integrates with the bone and will form the base of a new crown (artificial tooth). Once the implant has integrated with bone, a healing cap is screwed down onto the implant to allow the gum to heal with a specific contour around this abutment. The ideal shape of the gum, formed by the healing abutment, is called the emergence profile. This will create the ideal shape of the gums for the crown (to mimic the natural tooth shape as close as possible).

After the initial implant placement the implant should be left to integrate for at least 3 months. In this time a temporary tooth/prosthesis can be placed in the area where necessary.

The implant consists of 3 basic parts.

1) the implant placed in the jaw

2) the abutment which connects the implant with the "tooth" or crown portion.

3) the crown is the tooth part of an implant and connect with the implant via the abutment.

The crown gets cemented unto the abutment. The abutment with crown get screw retained on the implant.

In some cases, where alveolar bone has been lost due to infection, arificial bone may be required. The artificial bone is placed in the defect and integrates with the natural bone. This will allow a more stable bone environment for the implant to be placed into. This in turn will result in better integration of the implant with the surrounding bone.

Implants are the best option we have today to replace missing teeth functionally and aesthetically.