If you have severe tooth decay and missing teeth, you may know that your options for replacement are fairly limited. One of the most common options is to go with dental implants. The problem is, traditional dental implants may put a bad taste in your mouth due to a concern for pain or length of recovery time. You may be surprised to know there are some alternative options to traditional dental implant procedures. Here are three fo those alternatives and a few things you need to know about each one.
Mini Implants
If you have had tooth decay and issues with tooth loss, you may already have a set of dentures in place. If this is the case, you may have been surprised if your doctor mentioned dental implants in order to aid you with difficulties you may have with chewing, even though you already have dentures. The reason your dentist may have mentioned mini implants is to help stabilize your current dentures. These mini implants are put at strategic areas along your gumline, usually on the end sides of the dentures, to help stabilize them during the chewing and swallowing process. They can also help to stabilize the dentures during activities like talking. In essence, they work as both dental implants and stabilizing posts.
Immediate Load
One of the reasons you may be turned off of dental implants is due to the time it takes to place them or the recovery time. It may surprise you to find that there is a dental implant option that can be done the same day with reduced recovery time. This option is known as immediate load dental implants. These are not necessarily complete implants. What happens is, an implant is put in place on the day of the appointment. It is given time to fuse with your bone and then a permanent crown is placed after a duration of time has passed. The time is determined by your dentist based on your dental health and the issues you are having at the time.
Full Arch
A full arch is also known as a fixed dental implant or an all-on-four. This dental implant option is used to avoid bone grafting. Bone grafting may be an option if you have, not only tooth decay, but also bone loss due to the decay. Instead of bone grafting, a full arch is put in on available bone and used as the implant you need.
These are three of the alternatives your dentist may provide to traditional dental implant options. If you have questions, or if you want to know if there are other options, then consider a consultation with your dentist to cover all your dental implant options or other options that may work best for you. For more information, contact a practice such as Gordon Dental.
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