Annals and Essences of Dentistry
Open Access

Dental Implants Role in Long Term Oral Health

Judith Dirk^{* *}Correspondence: Judith Dirk, Department of Dentistry, Purdue University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Email:

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Description

In order to support dental prostheses like crowns, bridges, dentures, or facial prostheses or to serve as an orthodontic anchor, a dental implant attaches to the jaw or skull bone. Modern dental implants are built on the biologic process of bone regeneration, in which components like titanium or zirconia develop close contact with bone. A dental prosthetic is then attached once the implant device has been placed to ensure that it will osseointegrate. Osseointegration requires a particular amount of time before a dental prosthetic is connected to the implant that will support a dental prosthesis or crown.

The success or failure of implants appears to be influenced by the patient's health, medications that affect osseointegration, and the health of the oral tissues. Because chewing can apply significant biomechanical stresses, planning the position and number of implants is essential to the prosthetic's long-term health. The implant will be under some stress during normal function. The position and angle of the surrounding teeth, lab simulations, computed tomography with CAD/CAM simulations, and surgical stents are used to determine the best location for the implant. For osseointegrated dental implants to be successful over the long term, healthy bone and gingiva are necessary.

Restoration of a single implanted tooth

Without being connected to other teeth or implants, individual freestanding units are utilized to replace missing individual teeth. When replacing a single tooth, an implant abutment is attached to the implant using an anchor screw. Following that, the crown is fastened to the abutment using dental cement, a tiny screw, or by joining the two pieces together during production. The same goes for multiple tooth dental prostheses like fixed bridges or removable dentures. Dental implants can be used to anchor these devices. There is insufficient proof that fixed partial dentures supported by teeth outperform single crowns supported by implants over the long term (FPDs). Contrarily, dental implant therapy, with its favorable cost-benefit ratio and high implant survival rate, is the preferred method for replacing a single tooth. Dental implants are less expensive and more effective over time than tooth-supported FPDs for replacing a single lost tooth. The primary drawback of dental implant surgery is the requirement for a surgical procedure.

Implant-supported or implant-retained fixed bridge

An implant-supported bridge is a set of teeth that are fixed to dental implants and cannot be removed by the user. They are comparable to conventional bridges, but instead of using natural teeth to support and hold the prosthesis in place, one or more implants are used. Bridges can serve as anchors for teeth and are utilized to link several implants. The teeth that are situated between the abutments and the implants are referred to as pontics, while the teeth that are directly on top of the implants are known as abutments. Similar to how single-tooth implant replacements attach to implant abutments, implant-supported bridges do the same.

Overdenture supported by implants

A removable implant-supported overdenture is a removable prosthesis that acts as a tooth replacement and is supported, stable, and retained by implants. Most frequently, edentulous dental arches are rebuilt using complete dentures. In order to do this, the abutment is made to function as a tiny connector (a button, ball, bar, or magnet) that can be fastened to corresponding adapters on the underside of the dental prosthesis.

Orthodontic mini-implants

Dental implants are utilized in orthodontic patients to support orthodontic movement by serving as an additional attachment point or, as was previously indicated, to replace lost teeth. Teeth can only move if a force is applied in the direction of the desired movement. By encouraging periodontal ligament cells to remove bone in the tooth's path and replace it with new bone, the force leads to bone remodeling. To exert a force on a tooth, you need an anchor point—something immovable. Due to the absence of a periodontal ligament and the fact that they do not trigger bone remodeling when force is applied, implants make good anchor sites for orthodontic appliances. Implants used for orthodontic treatment often move very little throughout treatment and do not fully osseointegrate, making fast removal possible. When extra-oral anchoring cannot be done or when a shorter course of treatment is needed, they are employed. Although they can also be implanted in the roof of the mouth, mini-implants are typically placed between the roots of the teeth. These are then fastened to a fixed brace to help shift teeth.

Small diameter implants

Small-diameter implants have made it possible for dentists to provide edentulous and partially edentulous patients with functional transitional prosthesis right away while permanent restorations are being made. The effectiveness of these implants over the long term has been the subject of numerous clinical studies. Many studies have shown that micro dental implants have exceptional short- and medium-term survival rates. They seem to be a workable alternative treatment option for maintaining mandibular complete overdentures, according to the research.