Dental implant surgery can be a very good option for any person who is missing one or more teeth, because it can provide a permanent solution for the missing tooth, and will look and feel extremely natural in your mouth. In years past, only dentures and bridgework were available to patients who had undergone a tooth extraction, but dental implants are now available as perhaps the very best solution for a missing tooth. During surgery, a titanium post is installed directly into the jawbone, and then it will be necessary to allow several months to pass so the titanium screw can actually fuse with the jawbone. This is what gives a dental implant its stability and reliability - the fact that it actually becomes part of your existing jawbone.
Dental bridges can be used when the gap left by a missing tooth has solid natural teeth on either side, because these will be needed to support the installation of a new false tooth in the gap. The new false tooth, or pontic, is held in place by the abutment teeth on either side of the gap, and a crown is ordinarily cemented on to both of these abutment teeth for the purpose. The new tooth is often made of porcelain because that material blends in with existing teeth very well, but it could also be made of gold or other materials. The most popular type of dental bridge is known as a traditional bridge, and it is installed according to the description above, i.e. crowns being cemented on to two abutment teeth, which hold the new tooth in place.
Denture stabilization addresses one of the primary downsides to using dentures, that being the potential for slippage and movement in the mouth. Stabilization is accomplished by implanting titanium screws in the same way that a procedure for dental implants would be carried out. An overview of the process:
Snap-on smiles are so called because they provide a thin resin veneer which covers your current teeth, so as to provide a temporary solution to unsightly or discolored teeth for any upcoming event. They are of course, custom-made to fit over your teeth, so they can be snapped into place and removed just as easily. When you don't have time to go through the standard process of having veneers installed, snap-on smiles can provide an emergency solution that will be fine for any occasion where you want to look your best. After the important event has passed, you'll then have time to go through the process of having conventional veneers installed for a more permanent solution.
It is normally necessary to install one implant for each tooth you're missing, but all-on-4 implants take advantage of newer technology, and are able to use a different approach. In all-on-4 implants, an entire arch of either upper or lower teeth can be replaced by just four implants, which are strategically positioned in your mouth. This makes all-on-4 implants a very viable alternative to having dentures installed, and they are also much more functional and reliable than dentures. Since the four implants anchor all your new prosthetic teeth directly to the jawbone, there will never be any slippage or movement as there might be with dentures.
A single dental implant will generally cost in the neighborhood of $3,000 to $4,500, but you should be aware that these prices will vary according to your geographic region, the level of dental expertise at the clinic, and whether any other related processes must be carried out for the implant to be successful. The cost includes the implant itself, the abutment which will hold the crown, and the actual crown or new tooth. Part of the cost is also used to cover laboratory expenses which are needed to custom-fit the crown to the place where you have a missing tooth. In some cases, insurance will cover at least part of the cost of a dental implant, so check with your particular carrier before going ahead with the implant procedure.