Lost a tooth or need an irreparable tooth removed? There is no need to worry about how your smile will look – dental implants can restore your tooth with a tooth that will look as natural as your real teeth so that others will be unable to tell the difference. An expert Canadian cosmetic dentist can provide this work for you.
Dental implants are a permanent solution for lost or missing teeth. The dental root implant is directly fastened to the bone of the jaw. The concerned areas of the jawbone will naturally grow up to the surface of the implant. Then the implant will be securely held in place by the bone. There is no tissue or cartilage or ligament between the jawbone and the implant. This process is called Osseo integration.
It takes about four to six months for the Osseo integration to complete – after that time, your implant will be held secure by your jawbone. Once this is complete, the implanted tooth will behave just like a natural tooth. Your dentist will then place a crown over the implant to mimic the look of a real tooth. There are two critical steps involved in the procedure that ensure the implant will integrate properly: the preparation of the jaw and the placement of the implant.
To prepare the jaw, your dentist will need to drill a hole in the jawbone where the tooth originally resided. This area is called the edentulous jaw site and the narrow hole is called a pilot hole. The purpose of this hole is to guide the screw that will support the dental implant so that it will stay in place. The screw is made of titanium.
The edentulous hole is enlarged to match the diameter of the screw. Once the screw is securely in place, a protective cover screw is added. The implanted screw will be allowed to Osseo integrate, then heal for three to six months after which the protective screw will be replaced with a temporary crown on top of the implant. The purpose of the temporary crown is to serve as a pattern for the gum. The final step is replacing the temporary crown with a permanent one.
There are a number of steps required for a dental implant and it takes time to be completed, but it is a permanent procedure that will restore your smile back to its full luster.