A dental implant is an artificial tooth. When the procedure is completed, and it can take several months, the result is a tooth which looks identical and acts identical to the natural tooth it replaced. Dental implants in Jacksonville Beach area are often the procedure which is undertaken as an alternative to dentures which can be uncomfortable and ill fitting.
A great deal of how the procedure will be performed has to do with the condition of the site which is the jawbone. There are multiple steps required in implanting what eventually becomes a third tooth. Step one is the preparation of the jaw bone for the actual implantation of what will be the root, this is a titanium peg. Once this peg has been placed in the jaw it must be left long enough to become one with the bone, this can be several months.
Once the titanium implant has fused with the jaw the next stage is to attach an abutment which in turn holds a crown. The crown, often made from porcelain is made to have the identical appearance of the missing tooth which includes both function and color. The dentist uses a color chart which allows him or her to specify to the lab the identical color match. When the crown has been placed there is absolutely no appreciable difference between the implant and the natural tooth that it replaced.
There are times when successful dental implants in Jacksonville Beach relay on augmentation of the jaw bone. In the event the jaw bone is not healthy it will not support the implant, in a case like this bone or bonelike material has to be grafted. It may take a few months for the graft to properly take; some dentists prefer to wait eight or nine months to proceed. When the graft is from the patient’s bone it fuses far quicker than bone which is sourced from a bone bank or the material is not natural bone.
Once the jaw bone is deemed ready to support the titanium implant the procedure can continue. A cavity is first made in the bone in the exact location which has been predetermined by the dentist. The titanium insert is placed in the prepared site, the incision is closed and the fusing of insert to jaw bone begins. Once the implant is solid it is again exposed, a collar which is called an abutment is fitted to the top of the implant; this is what is used to support the crown. Once the crown has been fastened to the abutment the procedure is complete.
