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Diet, Oral Hygiene and the Healing Stage of the Dental Implant Procedure

Most people thought dental implants are just recently discovered. The idea of dental implants can be traced back to the Phoenicians, who planted seashells in their jawbones to take the place of missing teeth. We could say that these implants worked because of the archaeologist's finding that the shells have plaques because this tell us that they stayed for a long time in the user's mouth. Other than this exception, until several years ago, the most common alternative to natural teeth was dentures.

A recent discovery by a Swedish orthopedic surgeon allowed titanium alloys to be attached directly to the bone tissue. The discovery was further utilized in replacing lost teeth.

The first types of patients to benefit from dental implants are those who have absolutely no teeth and are having a hard time wearing dentures, says Des Moines County dental society president. Lately, implants are being used to replace even a tooth at a time. The satisfaction rate is high among patients, he says. It stabilizes dentures that are not fitting perfectly and therefore moves a lot.

Patients receive comfort and confidence in chewing and speaking with dentures, from the implants. The dental implant is a very tiny fixture but you can mold it into many different forms, he explained. The procedure crucially involves specialized drills that are quite intricate because it shall be drilling in holes into the jaw bone where the titanium fixtures will soon be resting. For about three to four months, the implant will stay embedded under the skin of the mouth. During that period, in most cases, the patient may continue to wear dentures. With the proper diet and oral hygiene, the mouth passes through the initial healing stage. The implant will be opened after this period and the second stage of the implant, which is the visible part, is affixed to the embedded fixtures. The resultant implant can either stabilize the existing dentures or connect the fixed bridge work for different implants.

The first person who can tell you if you need dental implants is your general dentist. A prerequisite to the procedure, however, is a medical and anatomical test to determine whether the patient indeed is a good candidate, and this evaluation is to be done by the surgeon. One of the most important questions to ask is whether or not the patient has the capability and likelihood to take care of his implants correctly. The care needs of original teeth transcends to that of the implants. A few tooth loss incidences stem from trauma, tumor or heredity, but the top cause is really neglect. The greatest participation of the patient is with regard to his own care where he needs to brush, floss around the posts and religiously rinse with the prescribed mouthwash.

People are not the same and no two people heal at the same rate. Actually, there are some patients that are not good candidates for implants basically because of their general health, their inability to maintain care for their teeth, or because their bone density is not enough or their bone is not the right one. After inserting the implant, the patient will need to show up for two or three follow up examinations during the first year, and then once or twice the succeeding years.

For an average patient, new dentures are set. However, if a patient is planning on having implants, normally must start with implants and subsequently with new dentures fabricated with a great regard for implants. An implant costs around 600 to 750 dollars depending on the type. A few private dental insurance companies will cover the cost.

It's a very reasonable alternative for the patient who has had significant bone loss. It is also a lot simpler than the bone transplant option. The mouth and jaws were designed to accommodate teeth, not dentures, reminding that patients' dentures, no matter how well adjusted, should be checked at least once a year to prevent bone loss.

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