Why Do We Make Implants?
Today, unfortunately, we can experience tooth loss due to various reasons such as decay, impact, accident. As a result of these losses, visual deficiencies such as aesthetics and functional deficiencies such as chewing may occur, causing problems in both our general health and social life.
Before implant applications, these losses were treated with two types of prosthesis.
The first of these were fixed prostheses, which we call “bridges”, in which intact teeth were reduced in size and used as support, while the other was removable prostheses (which can be removed from the mouth by our patients, commonly known as palatal prostheses).
While we prepare the fixed prostheses that we still use today to be supported by the teeth remaining in the mouth, we prepare the removable ones to be supported by the teeth and palates.
With the inclusion of implants in the treatment process of missing teeth, it was possible to make more protective and more comfortable treatments by making small changes in these prostheses.
In addition, thanks to the implant, we had the chance to make fixed prostheses instead of removable prostheses due to insufficient tooth support.
Implant prostheses are the same as traditional prostheses;
-Implant Fixed Prostheses and
We can divide them into two classes as Implant-Mounted Removable Prostheses.
Implant Fixed Prostheses
Fixed prostheses, as the name suggests, are prostheses that are constantly in our mouth like our own teeth after their application is completed by the physician, and cannot be removed from the oral environment by our patients for cleaning etc. reasons.
Before implant applications, we had no other option but to reduce the teeth adjacent to the lost tooth and get support from these teeth in order to eliminate tooth deficiencies with fixed prostheses. We can still prefer bridge prostheses that we prepare with this method in our patients who are not suitable for implant application for various reasons.
However, thanks to implant applications, we can prepare fixed prostheses supported by implants placed in the lost area.
What are the Advantages of Implant Supported Fixed Prostheses?
The most important advantage of implant-supported fixed prostheses is that we do not damage the intact tooth tissue with these prostheses. For example, in cases where a single tooth is lost, instead of reducing the teeth in front and behind the tooth in order to close the gap, it is possible to eliminate the deficiency without damaging the intact teeth with an implant placed in the missing area and a single tooth to be prepared on it.
In addition, implant-retained fixed prostheses prevent bone destruction by stimulating the bone structure as they ensure that chewing forces are transmitted to the jawbone with the help of the implant.
Thanks to these prostheses, we can prevent the movements that may occur in the neighboring teeth due to tooth loss, and we can prevent situations that may cause both aesthetic and functional problems such as teeth tipping towards the gap and gaps between the teeth.
In addition, we prevent problems such as unbalanced chewing, inadequate chewing, which may occur due to tooth loss, which may occur both in our jaw joint and in our digestive system such as stomach and intestines.
How long does it take to make fixed prostheses on implants?
The most important criterion here is the amount of bone remaining after toothlessness.
If there is enough bone tissue, it is possible to insert the teeth on the day we place the implant.
In cases where the bone does not have sufficient hardness, we wait for implant-bone fusion for an average of 2.5 months and start preparing our teeth after the healing is complete.
In cases where bone tissue is insufficient, if we have to make applications such as bone powder, this process can increase even more depending on the type of procedure applied.
How are Implant Overdentures Bonded?
We can fix implant prostheses to the implants in our mouth in two ways.
The first of these is the connection we establish through special adhesives used to bond the prostheses we call cement.
The other is the type of connection where the prosthesis is connected to the implant with the help of a screw and we do not use any adhesive.
Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. We decide which method we will choose in our treatments at the planning stage by looking at the condition of the missing teeth and implants in the mouth, and determine the parts we will use and the impression technique we will apply accordingly.
Implant Overdentures
Removable prostheses are prostheses that are supported by implant parts applied in the mouth and allow our patients to remove them from the mouth for various reasons.
When Do We Prepare Fixed and When Removable Implant Prostheses?
In cases where only teeth are lost, the amount of bone remaining is sufficient and the amount of tissue lost is small, fixed prostheses on implants come first as the best treatment option.
However, in cases where the destruction of bone and surrounding tissues is high with tooth loss, in cases where we cannot place a local number of implants to make a fixed prosthesis, we apply implant-mounted removable prostheses that support them by placing fewer implants.
What are the Types of Implant Removable Prosthesis?
Implant-retained removable prostheses with ball-head retainers and bars.
In ball-head retainers, the implant prosthesis connection is made with small parts attached directly to the implant.
In bar prostheses, the prosthesis-implant connection is provided by a metal bar that connects the implants to each other.
As with all implant prostheses, the type of removable prosthesis we will prepare is determined by the amount of bone remaining and the amount of tissue lost.
Which is the Best Denture?
Unfortunately, there is no correct answer to this question that we frequently hear from our patients.
The definition of a prosthesis as good by our patients is a subject that varies a lot from person to person. For example, although removable prostheses are described as if they are not very popular, the fact that the number of our patients who do not want to replace the palatal prosthesis used in case of complete edentulism with a fixed prosthesis in any way because it is like their own teeth is much higher than thought, can be considered as a good proof of how the concept of “Best” varies from person to person.
We can say that the prosthesis, which we evaluate many factors inside and outside the mouth in each patient who applies to us for the treatment of edentulism and decide on the type and design of each individual prosthesis as a result of physician-patient communication, is the most accurate prosthetic tooth for each person.
In fact, the best prosthetic tooth is the prosthetic tooth that we never have to make. Therefore, let’s not neglect to show the necessary care and attention to every tooth in our mouth.
