Complete prosthesis on implants

Prostheses are used to supplement partial or complete missing teeth in the oral cavity. In the case of complete toothlessness, the most popular solution is the use of traditional acrylic dentures. As we have already mentioned (see: Acrylic denture), this is not the best solution for patients. Due to the much weaker maintenance of these dentures in the mouth, the chewing forces that are generated during the consumption of food are much larger and the dentures themselves adversely affect the gums causing their disappearing over time, which in turn leads to a reduction in their stability. In many cases, using an acrylic denture is simply impossible.

An alternative is the total dentures on implants, the insertion of which involves the implantation of several dental implants in the mandible and the jaw, and then fixing the prosthesis using special latches. It is a very simple solution that significantly increases the stability of dentures and increases the comfort of their use. The most common are 4 implants in the maxilla and 2 in the mandible. After placing the implants and their healing, special fasteners functioning like snaps - connecting the implants with the prosthesis are assumed. This solution, in addition to increasing the stability of the prosthesis, also stabilizes bone holding around placed implants, and patients can still remove the prosthesis to clean them.

What does the procedure look like?

The procedure of implanting and placing the prosthesis consists of several stages.

During the first visit, the dentist drills in the bone (in the alveolar process) a hole that will be the place to screw the implant. After inserting the implant, the surgeon makes sure that it is stable and sutures the wound. The treatment lasts from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the condition of the patient's teeth. Then the patient leaves the office and the process of wound healing and direct implantation of the bone takes place. During the implantation process with the bone, the oxygen contained in the cells of the bone tissue forms a layer of titanium dioxide on the implant surface. The new cube tissue is deposited on the resulting coating and is the proper fixation of the implant. Thanks to this process, the body stops treating the implanted implant as a foreign body, which should be rejected, but as an integral part of the gum.

During the next visit, the surgeon reveals implants and screws the healing screws. The doctor cuts the mucous membrane located directly above the implant and screw the implant into the implant, which aims to accelerate the process of wound healing in the immediate vicinity of the implant, as well as modelling the shape of the gingiva for the future denture. Then the patient undergoes a period of regeneration lasting about 2 weeks, after which the prosthetic restoration can be performed.

During the third visit, impressions are taken and the prosthesis is attached. The doctor takes prosthetic impressions and establishes with the patient the color of the future denture. Then, in the laboratory, on the basis of the impression, a prosthetic restoration is performed.

During the last, the doctor tightens the implant connector. After making sure that the connection between the connector and the implant is stable, the dentist fixes the prosthetic prosthesis.

Type of anaesthetic

The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia or full anaesthesia.

Indications

• Loss of most or all teeth
• Patients who do not want to wear removable dentures
• Patients who do not want to have reconstructed full dentition with implants

Dental Implants - benefits

• This solution is incomparably more comfortable than traditional removable dental prostheses
• More aesthetic and easier to maintain than a classic denture
• Eliminates the discomfort of removable dentures during speaking or biting, because it is permanently fixed
• Implants stimulate bone tissue, helping to maintain a healthy bone condition and oval face
• Very long durability of the prosthesis

Before the surgery

Before the procedure there is a pantomographic picture, on the basis of which the doctor determines whether the amount of bone tissue in the gum is sufficient to introduce the implant. If it turns out that as a result of the loss of the tooth and the root bone has disappeared, the doctor may decide to perform a controlled bone regeneration, i.e. a surgical procedure, which consists in producing the required amount of bone tissue for future dental implants.

Time and course of convalescence

The time and course of convalescence depends on the type of implant used and the bone quality in which it was introduced:

• In the jaw from 3 weeks to 3 months
• In the jaw from 4 weeks to 6 months

During this time, the patient should take care of proper oral hygiene. This is the time when the implant ceases to be just an ordinary screw. It comes to its osseointegration, i.e. fused with the bone. The implant becomes then an integral part of the body.

After treatment

• The area of implantation can be cooled with cold wraps
• Any physical effort should be avoided in the first days after implant placement. You can not play sports for the first month
• You should completely refrain from drinking and eating for the first few hours after the treatments
• For the first month you should adhere to a soft diet. During the first week you should only take half-liquid foods. As bone tissue is rebuilt, you can eat harder and harder foods
• Absolutely perfect oral hygiene should be maintained and the mouth should be rinsed with the fluid recommended by the doctor
• Be very careful about the implantation area - do not brush them until the seams are removed, change the brush to a very soft one. After removing the sutures, massage the implant site very gently
• Chewing should be avoided until the wound is fully healed and the implant is implanted
• Take the medications prescribed by your dentist
• Cigarettes and alcohol should be eliminated up to 14 days after the procedure

Durability

Dentures embedded on implants are very durable and allow even a few decades of use.

Contraindications

• General ill health of the patient
• Unheated teeth
• Periodontal or mucosal disease
• Inadequate quality and quantity of the alveolar bone that prevents placement of the implant (it is possible to rebuild the bone to such an extent that there will be no problems with the implantation)
• Poor oral hygiene
• cancers
• AIDS
• Osteoporosis and other rheumatic diseases
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Mental disorders
• Allergies
• Addictions: alcohol, cigarettes, drugs
• Taking some medicines (eg steroids)

Possible complications

• No bone and implant integration (rejection of the implant)
• The mobility of the implant resulted from too much prosthesis loading
• The death of part of the bones
• Damage to bones, mucous membranes, blood vessels, nerves
• Inflammation around the implants