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What is a dental implant?
A dental implant is a titanium cylinder that
is placed in the jawbone to replace missing
teeth. Various attachments can be connected
to the implants, which are connected to
artificial teeth replacements. These
replacements can be removable or fixed.
 A crown (cap) can be made to attach to one
implant or several crowns to several
implants and crowns. A
bridge can be
attached to one ore more implants with
artificial teeth in between the implants.
Dentures can be made to screw into five or
more implants or to snap over two to four
implants. Existing dentures can be modified
to snap over two to four implants. The more
implants holding a denture the more secure,
less bulky and the greater the biting force.
There are three types of dental implants:
Traditional,
Mini Implants and Transitional.
Transitional implants are a recent
development. They are placed with
Traditional implants. A denture can be
secured to the transitional implants while
the traditional implants are healing. When
the traditional implants are ready to
support the denture, the transitional
implants are removed. Mini implants are also
a recent development. They are smaller and
simpler to place than traditional implants.
They can be used to secure an existing
denture as soon as they are placed.
Patients must regularly clean around all
implants. They also should be professionally
cleaned every 3 to 4 months. Attachments
will need regular maintenance such as
cleaning, screw replacement, screw
tightening and part replacement. There is a
fee for all of these procedures as well as
your treatment selections. Also we the staff
and doctors at Delmarva Dental Services will
be more than happy to answer any of your
questions.
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