The different types of dental implants
The need for implant dentistry is very common, with millions of people in the UK benefitting from dental implant treatment every year.
A dental implant is chosen because it provides stability for replacement teeth and helps maintain surrounding bone. This ultimately results in the implant and the bone integrating together – a process called osseointegration.
There are different types of teeth implants, including:
- Singular tooth implants – a single tooth implant is used to replace one missing tooth. A titanium screw is placed in the jawbone as a replacement for that tooth’s root. A false tooth crown is then fixed to this implant, retained by either bonding or preferably a screw-retained crown.
- Multiple dental implants – if there are multiple missing teeth adjacent to each other they can be replaced with more than one implant connected by a bridge, typically two implants and three to four teeth in one bridge.
- Implant-supported bridges – again, if there are multiple missing teeth, a dental implant-supported bridge contains multiple prosthetic teeth, attached to a bridge, creating an arch of teeth implants
- Implant-retained dentures – held in place by dental implants screwed into the jawbone, implant-retained dentures function better than normal dentures, as they are more stable, although there will still be an element of movement.
- Smile-in-a-day dental implants (also known as all-on-4, same-day smile and full jaw dental implants) – are a long-lasting dental solution replacing loose, rotten and missing teeth or for those already with un-fixed dentrures. These implants are placed into the jaw, providing a full set of functioning teeth, in just one day