What Are the Different Types of Dental Implants? A Brief Guide

There are many ways that you might lose teeth. While tooth decay and infection are the most common causes, physical damage and other health problems can also lead to the loss of a tooth. 

When you lose teeth, the gap they leave can knock your confidence. Smiling, laughing and talking suddenly become things you feel very self-conscious about. Eating also becomes a minefield with many of your go-to meals firmly off the menu.

The great news is that we can rebuild your smile with natural-looking replacements that restore both the appearance and function of your teeth. The most effective way to do this is using dental implants. But with several types of dental implants available, which is the best option for you?

In this guide, we’ll compare the different dental implant types so you can make an informed decision about your new teeth. 

What Are Dental Implants?

Before we look at how dental implants work, we should look at the structure of a tooth. Every tooth in your mouth has two halves. The part we can see above the gums is called the crown. Below the gums, the root travels down right into the jaw. 

Dental crowns are often used to restore damaged teeth. Often, they’re placed over an existing tooth. In many cases, though, they can be placed on a dental implant. 

Dental implants replace the tooth’s root. They’re made from titanium, a hard metal that’s well-known for its durability and biocompatibility. A dental implant goes right down into your jaw exactly as a natural tooth would. 

After a dental implant has been in your jaw for a few months, the bone and metal start to fuse together. This is a process called osseointegration. This tight bond gives new teeth unparalleled support. 

The Benefits of Dental Implants

There are several great reasons to get dental implants. 

• Implants allow you to eat with confidence. The support they offer lets you bite and chew whatever you like. Compared to dentures and bridges, implants offer the best levels of support. 
• Your smile will look great. Dental implants support realistic teeth that complement your natural smile. Having great-looking teeth also means you can talk and laugh without feeling self-conscious. 
• Replacing missing teeth helps reduce your chances of developing tooth decay and gum disease. 
• Dental implants help keep the rest of your teeth in line. When you lose teeth, its neighbours can slide out of position and become crooked. Replacing your teeth stops dental drift.
• A dental implant will help preserve your jawbone. The implant will bind to the bone and stop deterioration. This ensures your facial structure doesn’t change or make you look older. 

Traditional Single Implants

Traditional single implants consist of one titanium post capped with a lifelike dental crown. We can use a single dental implant to replace the root of any missing tooth as long as your jaw has sufficient density. We’ll use digital scans to check this. 

When you lose a tooth, your jawbone will gradually start to deteriorate. Because there’s no longer a tooth to support, the bone in that area slowly resorbs. Eventually, the reduced mass leads to a thinner jaw and a noticeable change in the structure of your mouth. 

While a bone graft or sinus lift could solve this problem, rebuilding your jawbone can take time. Zygomatic or same-day implants may offer a more straightforward solution in this case. 

If you just need one replacement tooth and you have sufficient jawbone, we’ll proceed with implant placement. 

The entire process is done under an anaesthetic so you’re as comfortable as possible. We’ll need to do everything in stages, as your bone will have to heal at various points. 

Once the implant is firmly in place, we’ll cap it with a custom-made crown that will perfectly match the rest of your smile. 

Quick Placement With Same Day Dental Implants

If you’ve lost several teeth, or even an entire arch, dental implants are still an option. You might think that you’ll need an implant under each replacement tooth, but this isn’t the case.

We can place multiple teeth using as few as four implants. We’ll strategically position the implants across the length of your jaw to provide maximum support for your new smile. 

Usually, the two implants closest to the front of the mouth are angled straight down into the jaw, whereas those further back are placed at an angle to give increased stability across several teeth. 

Due to the nature of the procedure, recovery is typically quicker than traditional implants and we can even perform the entire implant surgery in just one day. By entering the jaw at an angle, we’ll also take full advantage of the additional bone density.

Just like with single dental implants, your new smile will look great and can go back to enjoying your favourite food again. 

Go Deeper With Zygomatic Implants

When you lose teeth from your upper jaw, but you don’t have the bone density to support standard implants, we can utilise the zygomatic bone — better known as the cheekbone. 

By placing long implants at an angle through the upper jaw into the cheekbone, we can make use of this extra bone volume to enhance the stability of your new smile. Zygomatic implants are used to support multiple replacement teeth. 

Usually, we’ll use two longer zygomatic implants in conjunction with up to four standard implants. If you choose zygomatic implants, you won’t need a bone graft or sinus lift. The process for placing zygomatic implants is brief. We’re also usually able to rebuild your smile in just one day. 

Dental Implants at Love Teeth

Dental implants are life-changing. Implants provide fantastic support for your new smile, look great, and help restore lost confidence. 

Our highly-skilled and experienced team have placed countless implants. With clinics across Surrey, make Love Teeth your first choice for rebuilding your smile. 

Book a consultation today to find out which type of dental implants best suits your needs.