Dental Implant Description

By Racheal Gill A dental implant is a titanium post that is surgically placed into the jawbone and is used to replace missing teeth. It resembles a tooth root but it is made out of metal. For this paper I will describe the appearance of a dental implant, the parts needed, and how it is used.

Appearance
A dental implant has various sizes of length and diameters. The Figure 1: Different sizes and shaped implants. length can range from 3 mm to 13 mm and the diameter can Source: range from 3 mm to 6 mm. They have spiral grooves running down the majority of the implant similar to a conventional screw. Look at Figure 1 to see the differences in shape and length an implant can come in. They are very light weight usually only weighing a couple of ounces.

Parts needed
A dental implant requires many different parts and tools in order to have a successful placement and restoration. 1. Surgical kit: This includes different size drill bits that will open a canal in the jawbone for the implant to be placed. There is also a torque wrench that will tighten the implant securely in the bone. Refer to Figure 2 to view an example. 2. Screw driver: A screw driver is needed to tighten a Figure 2: Surgical kit example screw down into the implant. The screw usually connects an abutment (connecting element) into the implant. See Figure 3 to view a picture of a screw driver. 3. Torque wrench: A separate torque wrench from the surgical wrench is needed for the screw driver. This will tighten a Figure 3: Example of a screw screw between 10 Ncm-35 Ncm (Newton centimeter: driver used with implants. measurement of torque). 4. Abutment: These come in different shapes, angles, and sizes. They are the connecting element between the teeth and the implant. See Figure 4 to view some of the different kinds of abutments. 5. Screws: These screws are very small in size, usually only a few millimeters in length, and they are used to connect Figure 4: Variety of the different kinds of abutments. abutments into the implants and teeth into the abutments.

How to use
Dental implants can be used to restore a single tooth or an entire set of teeth. The following are examples of the different types of treatment dental implants are used in. 1. A single tooth replacement can be seen in Figure 5. Once the implant has healed properly in the bone, usually 3-6 months, an abutment is screwed into the implant and a crown (a restoration that looks like a tooth) is cemented onto the abutment. 2. An implant bridge is normally done similar to a single tooth replacement but involves more teeth. You will typically have two implants that replace three missing teeth, you can sometimes replace more than three but a doctor would need to properly diagnose. See Figure 6 to view an example. 3. Replacing an entire set of teeth will take a minimum of four implants. They are used to secure a set of teeth in place without having the option to remove them. This is an alternative to conventional dentures (a prosthetic set of teeth). See Figure 7 for an example.
Figure 7: Entire set of teeth

Figure 5: Single tooth replacement

Figure 6: Implant bridge

Conclusion
A dental implant is a great way of replacing missing teeth. There are so many different uses for them and new technology is always being created. If you are in need of replacing a missing tooth or several missing teeth, you should talk to your dentist and see if you would be a good candidate for a dental implant.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_implant www.usdentaldepot.com www.123rf.com www.biohorizons.com www.yourdentistryguide.com/implants/