Dentistry implants are not new to dentistry; in fact the Mayans and the Chinese were already trying to replace lost teeth in 3000 BC by hammering foreign objects into the jawbone. It was in 1980 that titanium emerged in dentistry.
Today, the implantology success rate is very high provided that the quality and quantity of residual bone are adequate. If a tooth is extracted, an implant should be placed immediately for the front teeth and after 4 months for a posterior tooth. A long waiting time before the replacement surgery will most probably lead to bone loss requiring bone grafting prior to the placement of an implant.
The implant surgery is done under simple local anesthesia like any other dental treatment and takes usually less than one hour. Aside from mild discomfort and a little inflammation, there are usually no serious complications and the patient can return to their everyday life but must avoid vigorous exercises for 24 hours.
While implants are the ideal solution for toothless spaces, they remain foreign bodies in the dental system. They do not move like natural teeth and are at risk of infections. Their crowns may become loose or even break and finally, implants are not as good as natural teeth that can continually adapt to changes in the system. That’s why we try to save natural teeth as much as possible by giving prevention advice, restorations, crowns or root canal treatments. We should only opt for an implant when the prognosis of preservation of the natural tooth is low.
