FAQ
What is a dental implant?
Essentially, it is an artificial cylindrical root in titanium.
Why dental implants are made in titanium?
Because it is the metal presenting the best biocompatibility. It is also for other human prosthesis like hip prosthesis.
How is constituted a dental implant?
A dental implant is constituted of 3 different parts: the titanium root, the abutment, usually screwed on the implant, the crown (ceramic) identical to those used with natural teeth.
What is the usual size of a dental implant?
Length : 8 to 16mm. Diameter : 3 to 5.5mm.
How long is the treatment?
The treatment includes 2 steps: a surgical step in order to insert the implant inside the maxillary bone. a prosthetic step, a few weeks later the surgery, when the crown is connected to the implant.
Who is able to receive a dental implant?
Is it necessary to advise a patient against dental implants?
Patients over 16 years old, patients presenting a good health, patients presenting a good oral hygiene, patients presenting a sufficient quantity of bone.
What are the indications for the use of dental implants?
Full mouth edentations, partial mouth (uni or bilateral) edentions, single tooth edentions.
Why do a dental implant?
If one tooth is missing, a dental implant is able to replace it without any damages for the adjacent teeth, if posterior teeth are missing, if dental implants are used, it is possible to avoid the use of a removable denture, if a patient have complete removable dentures, dental implants are able to stabilize these dentures.
Is it necessary to replace each tooth missing by an implant
No, because it is possible sometimes to do bridges between implants.
Why after a dental implant placement, it is necessary to wait before to receive the prosthetic part (crown)?
Because, this time corresponds to the healing time of the bone in order to have a complete contact with the titanium surface.
How long after a dental implant placement is it necessary to wait before to receive the prosthetic part (crown)?
6 weeks to 6 months, depends on the type of implant, to the bone quality.
How many steps are included in a complete implant treatment?
Initial consultation (X-rays, scanner, study models,:), surgical phase, suture removal (1 week after surgery) abutment installation and crown impression (6 weeks for the bone healing), the complete duration of the treatment will be around 8 to 9 weeks.
How is the surgery, and is there any post surgical effects?
Usually, the surgery is under local anaesthesia, the duration is 20 to 30 minutes by implant. Usually, there is no specific swelling after an implant surgery, except if there is a bone regeneration procedure associated, (it is not like after wisdom teeth surgical extractions), the patients have to take pain killer medication for 2 days maximum.
Is there any possibility of rejection?
No, there is not, because titanium is a metal biocompatible.
Is there any possibility of complications or failures?
The main complications are bacterial induced complications or failures, either bacterial contamination during the surgical phase, either bacterial complication associated with peri-implant bone loss like the bone loss around natural teeth due to an excessive presence of plaque and calculus (bacteria), this is called: peri-implantitis, if it is not treated on time it can lead to the loss of the implant.
What is it necessary to do in order to limit the risk of complications or failures?
To have a good oral hygiene and to reduce or stop smoking before the surgery, to do a minimum of 1 year professional control, in order to detect any beginning problem.
Is it possible to treat complications, when those one appear?
Yes, it is: Using professional cleaning for the implants and the remaining teeth. Using bone regeneration procedures.
What is usually the rate of success?
Since almost twenty five years a new generation of implants is used, and all publications concerning these implants showed an average success rate of 90 to 97%, all types of implants together.
How long is the survival duration of implants?
Till now, the maximum duration registered is around twenty to twenty five years, related to the first patients who received implants from the new generation.
What is the first examination we have to do before to know if we are able to receive dental implants?
X-ray examination, (panoramic X-ray or Ct scan).
Are all the existing implants compatible?
No, usually there is no compatibility between the different of implants existing, if you want to do a control of your implants it is better to consult an implantologist using the same system that you received.
Is it necessary to have an information concerning the system of implants that we are supposed to receive?
Yes, because all the implants don’t have an international distribution, by sample, if you leave in UAE you have to be sure that the implants you received will be available in other countries around the world.
What are the advantages related to the use of dental implants?
Implants are able to transform completely the patient’s image, because the patient will have more confidence in his possibilities, implants are the solution for all the removable denture presenting a mobility, which are inhibiting the normal personality of the patient, throwing his professional and private life, implants will allow the patient to speak, to eat, to laugh, to flirt, to kiss naturally, without any differences with his previous natural teeth.