Dental implants are revolutionizing dental surgery and tooth replacement. People lose teeth for many reasons, including excess wear, mouth trauma, gum disease, and tooth decay.

Dental implants are more durable than dentures and bridges. They are a fixed structures in the mouth. Implants can also be used along with other teeth restoration procedures. For instance, implants can be used to aid a dental bridge when many teeth have to be replaced. Dental implants can now be placed in smaller spaces in the jaw with what are called “mini-implants.”

The results are very satisfactory. Dental implants today look just like regular teeth. Part of the reason is that dental implants physically connect to the living bone in the jaw. The process of integrating the implant to the bone is called osseointegration.

While there is no full guarantee that a dental implant will work, the five-year success rate is 95% for the lower jaw and 90% for the upper jaw, as the bone in the upper jaw is ever so slightly less dense than in the lower jaw. The reason dental implants may fail could include an improperly positioned implant, or an infection. Dental implants fail because the process of osseointegration for whatever reason doesn’t take place.

The latest strategy dentists are using with implant surgery is that dental implants are placed where teeth have only recently been extracted. This procedure can make the osseointegration faster by several months. This isn’t always possible, but implant dentists like to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself.

Dental implants are very successful in replacing teeth that have been lost to decay, disease, or trauma. Unlike bridges and dentures, dental implants are permanent. Because of this, and because they look so much like real teeth, dental implants may become the wave of the future of restorative dentistry.