The advent of contemporary dental practices and cutting edge in the materials science industry has led to an immense increase in the use of dental implants for the restoration of missing natural teeth.
The dental implants have rapidly taken over as the most preferred tooth replacement option among the dentists as well as the patients.
However, despite the mushroom growth and use of dental implants for tooth replacement, failure of dental implants is also on the rise. Therefore, most dentists are now focusing on the means and techniques to improve their implant success rate and enhancing their clinical service life. This article provides various tips for dentists, so that they can improve the success rate of their implant cases.
Not Every Individual is a Suitable Candidate for Dental Implants
That’s right! While a novice dentist may make a hurried decision to replace every patient’s missing teeth with dental implants, this practice can lead to disastrous results. One of the most important factors in ensuring successful implant therapy is selecting a suitable patient. Some of the main points in determining the eligibility of a patient are:
- Absence of any Underlying Dental Problem – patients are not suitable for getting dental implants, unless they are free of any underlying gum or periodontal problems. This is because osseointegration in implants will be compromised if they are placed in a bone that is already infected.
- Chronic Medical Illnesses – patients who have chronic medical problems such as those have diabetes mellitus, kidney or liver problems should not receive dental implants, unless their illness has been completely treated.
- Immune Problems – medical problems that compromise the immune system of patients are an absolute contra-indication for placing dental implants. A compromised immune system means that the body does not possess enough defense mechanisms to fight off any kind of infection, thereby increasing the chances of implant failure.
- Age – dental implants should not be placed in patients who are at both the extremes of ages. Ideal results of implant placement are achieved when bone maturation has taken place. Therefore, patients in their late teens and twenties are ideal candidates for getting dental implants.
- Smoking – smoking has been shown to dramatically reduce the success rate and long term survival or dental implants. Therefore, smokers are not ideal candidates for getting their missing teeth replaced with dental implants.
Implant Selection is Equally Important
- Implant Type – Another important factor is the selection of the implant. The most commonly used type of implants are endosseous, implying that they penetrate only one side of the alveolar. Other types of implants are not commonly used for tooth replacement, and are mostly employed in maxillofacial surgery. At GP implants, we provide the highest quality endosseous implants that provide lifelong clinical service.
- Implant Length – Where bone height and quality is sufficient, longer endosseous implants are always preferred. However, in cases where the bone height is very short or the sinus is very close to the bone crest, short implants can be used for better results. Keeping this in view, GP implants offers both the conventional as well as short endosseous implants for use in a multitude of clinical scenarios.
- Implant Coating – implants that have been coated either chemically or mechanically tend to provide implant success rate, as they enhance their osseointegration potential. At GP implants, we offer Sand-blasted and Acid etched (SLA) surface implants, which have been shown to significantly improve the success rate and longevity of our implants.
Don’t Forget About the Quality and Quantity of the Jaw Bone
Implants are bound to fail in regions where there is insufficient compact bone present. Therefore, in these cases, dentists may need to perform bone augmentation with the help of a bone graft. Additionally, a sinus lift procedure may also be required in cases where the maxillary sinuses have sagged downwards.
Implant-implant and Implant-tooth Distance Should Be Carefully Maintained
Sufficient space should be provided between adjacent implants or teeth to ensure optimal and undisturbed healing of the surgical site. Ideally, there should be at least 1.5 mm distance between an implant and a natural toot, while it should be minimum 3 mm between two adjacent implants. Additionally, there should be at least 2mm vestibular bone protection available for ensuring optimal osseointegration.
Implant Loading
The decision to perform implant loading depends on multiple factors, such as the position of the tooth as well as the oral hygiene status of the patient.
- Position of the Tooth – generally implant loading can be immediately performed after their placement, if the teeth are free of any underlying gingival or periodontal problem. Furthermore, it is advisable to perform early or delayed implant loading in posterior teeth, especially when there is any underlying dental problem.
- Oral Hygiene Status – implant loading should be delayed in patients who have been suffering from any kind of gingival or periodontal problems. Sufficient time must be provided for optimal healing, before the implant loading is considered.
Keep on Learning
If you want to achieve success in implantology, then you must continue to learn. The more experience you gain, the better patient evaluation and surgical skills you will develop, and the better will the success rate of your implants. You should frequently enroll in continued dental education programs to keep abreast with the latest surgical and diagnostic skills in implantology.
Finding the “Right” Implant?
This is the most important question. In a world where numerous kinds and types of dental implants are being manufactured and offered to dentist, how would one choose the best implant? Well, GP Implants, while considering all the implant success factors discussed above, have developed state of the art dental implants that satisfy all of your modern day implantology needs. Not only we provide high quality implants, but we also provide all the implant placement accessories and gadgets so that you are always ready for performing implant placement.