Dental implants - a holistic dental perspective
Dental Implants
At the Sydney Dental Centre we recognise that while dental implants are an excellent long term solution to replacing tooth loss there are some issues that need to be considered first in the context of your general health.
Are you allergic or hypersensitive to the metal used? (What are the potential disadvantages of dental implants?) What is your general health status.
What are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are small titanium screws that can be placed into the jawbone. They have two functions.
- to provide a platform on which to construct crowns or bridges to replace missing teeth.
- to preserve the bone from eroding away after teeth are lost.
Dental implants can be used to replace both single and multiple teeth, and can also be used in association with removable dentures to anchor or improve the stability of the dentures.
What are the advantages of dental implants?
Dental implants have a very high success rate and longevity.
Placement of an implant to replace a single tooth when compared to placing a fixed bridge offers many advantages including:
- preserving tooth structure on the adjacent teeth, which would have to be reduced to support a fixed bridge.
- allowing better access for cleaning between the teeth when compared with a fixed bridge.
Implants can be a better restorative alternative to root canal treatment and the subsequent restoration in a heavily broken down tooth.
Full mouth reconstructions supported on implants instead of full upper and lower dentures can provide results comparable to natural dentition. This can be achieved in either of two ways:
- by placing implants to which fixed bridges are attached.
- by placing implants which can support removable dentures.
Specifically, some of the benefits of dental implants include:
- Improvement of appearance
- Restoration of normal eating and speech
- Improved denture retention
How long can I expect dental implants to last?
Dental implants have been used in dentistry for 30 years. Research has shown that 90% of implants can expect to last for 25-30 years.
Potential disadvantages of Dental Implants:
Metal Sensitivity is rarely considered but is still a potential problem of dental implants
Metal Hypersensitivity (allergy) is a complex phenomenon whose characteristics are still not completely understood. MELISA is a blood test, which has been scientifically and clinically evaluated to objectively diagnose cellular hypersensitivity (type IV allergy).
MELISA can identify a hypersensitivity reaction, which can be triggered by substances such as titanium, gold and other metals, including mercury used in mercury amalgam fillings (see amalgam)
People sensitive to these substances have been found by the MELISA! Test to suffer from local and systemic reactions. (see Metal Allergy)
