Implant-supported prosthodontic restorations

Even if a single tooth is lost, it should be restored. Missing teeth should be replaced not only due to aesthetics, but, more importantly, due to health reasons.

Tooth loss and accompanying bone loss cause the face to look in a characteristic manner: hollow jaw, thin lips, elongated nose, as well as a lot of wrinkles around the lips and the nose.

In many cases, if one tooth is missing, severe malocclusion and bone defects may be observed. Also, bone loss in the dental socket, i.e. the place where the tooth joined the bone, results from this phenomenon. That is why it is recommended that all missing teeth, irrespective of its location, be replaced immediately.

If a single tooth is lost, this situation constitutes an indication for the use of dental implants. That is how we can avoid touching adjacent teeth, and even make their fixation within the bone better.

If a single tooth is lost, implants can be placed at the same time as the tooth is extracted. That is why the number of surgical procedures is limited to one, and healing time is much shorter than in conventional implantation.

If the Patient has several missing teeth, it is possible to replace them using single implants and crowns, as well as using Bridges – e.g. if 3 teeth are missing, they can be replaced with a ceramic bridge mounted on 2 implants.

If the Patient has no teeth, implants are the best solution. It is much better than conventional dentures. Dentures exert negative influence on the gums and lead to their atrophy, which, in turn, causes stability loss. If the Patient is edentulous, we have two possibilities of replacing teeth with implants:

• CONVENTIONAL IMPLANT-SUPPORTED DENTURE 

In maxilla, 4 implants are used, and in the mandible – 2 implants. Then, after implantation and healing, special abutments are placed and function as a lock – they connect the implants with the denture. The advantages of such solution include better stability, stability of bone around the implants, and the possibility to take the denture out for cleaning.

• TREATING EDENTULOUS PATIENTS WITH IMPLANT-SUPPORTED BRIDGES 

A restoration that restores natural smile to the maximum. If this solution is chosen, a minimum of 6 implants should be placed in maxilla, and 4 in the mandible. We can then put 12 crowns on them. That is how we restore fully natural mastication and the teeth are mounted in the oral cavity in a fixed way, which means that the Patient does not take it out of the oral cavity. The restoration functions then as if this was the Patient’s natural dentition.