What Are Dental Implants And Its Types In Detail?

One of the most common reasons why we visit the dentist is to place a dental implant. When the reconstruction of a piece is not possible and its extraction is necessary, or when we have directly lost one or more teeth, the implants are a safe and durable solution to replace our original pieces. We must bear in mind that dental implants respond not only to an aesthetic function so that our smile looks beautiful and complete, but they are also functional, helping to maintain a good bite and good oral health.

Implants can last a lifetime if we take care of them properly: to carry out meticulous dental hygiene, emphasizing areas of difficult access such as the gap between the crown and the pillar in which the prosthesis is fixed, as well as visits regular dentist will ensure a long life of the implant. To mention it in figures, following the cleaning instructions provided by our dentist and going to review periodically, dental implants are kept in perfect condition after 15 years in 90% of cases.

What are Dental Implants?

Surely more than once you’ve heard about dental implants without knowing exactly what they mean. They are a type of treatment very common in dentistry.

When we speak of dental implants we are referring to a type of metallic element which is placed in the maxillary bones just below the gums surgically. At the moment when the implant is installed, the professional will be able to work than placing the crowns or bridges there that he needs to replace the dental pieces that have been lost.

The dental implant fuses with the mandibular bone, making its concrete function to be a stable support for artificial teeth. In this way, both the bridges and the prostheses that are placed on the dental implant are never going to slide to any side allowing the patient to feel them in a natural way and forget that he does not have his real teeth in his mouth.

What types of implants are there?

Currently, two types of dental implants are used that respond to two different materials, both biocompatible, and two different types of integration based on these materials: titanium and zirconium.

• Dental implants of zirconium:

The zirconia is a ceramic material hardness and resistance already used for the manufacture of brackets, bolts or trunnions to place after endodontic and making bridges and dental crowns. Its white color is very similar to that of the original dental pieces and has extraordinary durability as long as optimal hygiene conditions are maintained, to the point that many dentists offer a lifetime guarantee with these implants. In addition, zirconium prevents the formation of bacterial plaque around it, it resists very well the corrosion of acids and does not cause problems due to temperature changes. These implants are used in patients allergic to titanium or who want extreme aesthetics.

The technique used to make zirconium implants is bio integration: instead of being a mechanical union, as in the case of the Osseo integration of titanium implants, we are faced with a chemical union that occurs through a layer formed between the surface of the bone and the surface of the implant. This type of union is faster and more intense than that of Osseo integration. It has been observed that the bone level around these implants has remained intact with the passage of time, which offers fewer possibilities of infections that result from the accumulation of sub-gingival bacteria.

• Titanium dental implants:

Titanium is the material most traditionally used for dental implants: it is a metal with a color similar to steel, but lighter, easily moldable and extremely hard. Its high biocompatibility makes the organism hardly reject it. The technique used to place titanium implants is Osseo integration: a mechanical union through which bone cells adhere to the surface of the implant, thus gradually consolidating its fixation to the maxilla