Dental Implants

Overview

Dental implants are a way for individuals with severely damaged or missing teeth to gain a new tooth, or an entire mouth of teeth, that look, feel and function like real teeth. Mayo Clinic specialists in Rochester have been offering this procedure for more than 20 years and have treated thousands of patients. A multidisciplinary treatment team, including oral and maxillofacial surgeons, prosthodontists and periodontists, work together to provide a customized solution for each patient. Mayo also conducts research on new approaches to oral disorders.

Dental implants are fast becoming a popular alternative to dentures, bridgework, and other dental procedures used to replace severely damaged or missing teeth. Not only do patients receive a new tooth (or teeth), securely anchored into the jawbone, but the artificial tooth can easily be removed, fixed, and reattached if it is ever damaged.

Implant procedure

The dental implant procedure requires a few steps:

First, the surgeon inserts a small, threaded cylinder into the jawbone. This cylinder acts as a titanium root for the artificial tooth. The surgery is usually performed under local anesthetic; sedation and general anesthetic are used with more comprehensive surgeries.

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The patient returns home to recover while the cylinder fuses with the jawbone, which usually takes three to six months.

Once fusion has occurred, the patient returns to have a temporary cap, resembling a tooth, attached to the cylinder so the gums can form to the shape of a tooth.

When the gums have healed in their new position, the restorative dentist, (a prosthodontist) removes the temporary cap and screws or glues (depending on the type of implant) the new tooth into place. For the most common single-tooth implant, this procedure is completed in approximately 30 minutes. Multiple implants require lengthier procedures.

Some patients qualify for "same-day teeth" (also known as Novum), in which the implant is inserted in the jawbone, the gums prepared and the new tooth attached all in one procedure.

Bone grafting for dental implants

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Patients must have sufficient jawbone quality and quantity to support a titanium anchor. Bone grafting is used by oral and maxillofacial surgeons to repair or enhance the jawbone so implant surgery can be performed.

In most cases, the surgeon needs only a small portion of bone, which is most commonly transplanted from another site in the upper or lower jawbone. The healing process can take anywhere from four to six months.

For patients needing larger sections of bone to repair and expand the jawbone, bone can be taken from the chin, the leg, or even the hip (for very large sections). The surgeon uses screws to attach the graft until it heals and fuses with the jawbone. The screws are later removed when the implant is placed.

Once the bone has healed, the surgeon can continue with the normal dental implant procedure.

Read more about dental implants at
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