Teeth Implants Sydney NSW
Multiple missing teeth is a treatable condition often caused by a variety of factors.
Gum disease, sport injuries, road accidents and general decay are among some of the most popular reasons for tooth loss. The worrying statistic is that many of the population who have missing teeth don’t have them replaced.
Why replace multiple missing teeth?
When you are missing multiple teeth, your jawbone reacts in a completely natural way – it shrinks. Replacing your missing teeth is important as your jaw starts to shrink almost immediately after tooth loss – this process is called resorption. If the space where teeth were previously located is left vacant for too long, the ridge of bone that your teeth sit on and are supported by will degrade, negatively impacting the ability to restore your oral health. Not only will this affect your oral health, the cosmetic difference is rather significant, making the chin and jaw appear sunken.
The best way to replace missing teeth
Some common treatment options for replacing multiple teeth include either dental bridges and or dentures. Each of these treatments has their benefits but none more than dental implants. No other treatment supports your gums and bone structure as well as an implant, making you more impervious to the problems that go along with tooth loss; tooth drifting and bone loss.
Dental Implants not only replace your teeth that are missing, they replace the tooth roots which are vital to sustainable oral health. Dentures and bridges are designed to sit on the stop of your gum line by seeking support from surrounding teeth whereas dental implants are placed in your jaw and work in the same way as a real tooth, both cosmetically and functionally.
How are the multiple implants inserted?
When replacing multiple missing teeth the treatment option chosen is often based on the positioning of your missing teeth. Multiple teeth side-by-side may be replaced using a number of single implants, implant supported bridges or an implant supported denture. Missing teeth that are scattered throughout the mouth are often replaced using multiple single dental implants. No matter the option taken the implant procedure is similar until the prosthesis is added to the site.
- The implant is a small screw like cylinder shape which is placed into your jaw and given an approximate time of around 3-6 months to heal; a process known as Osseo-integration which binds the bone and implant together. A temporary bridge or crown will be fitted to cover the numerous implant sites.
- Depending on your circumstance, Dr Elkhatib will determine whether your gum is to be placed back over the implant for optimal healing capacity. If so, the gum layer will need to be pulled back and an abutment will be attached. The abutment is the accessory that connects the implant to the prosthetic teeth. If not, you will move directly to step 3.
- If you did not require step 2 to take place, the prosthetic teeth or bridges are created to match the rest of your smile and attached to the abutments that are now secured to your implants.
