If you lose one tooth or many teeth due to an accident or trauma, you know that you've also lost the ability to smile and eat with ease. Replacing the teeth with dentures or partial teeth may not give you the same confidence that the real teeth did. A dental implant on the other hand does look and feel like a real tooth. A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that is placed into the jaw, and holds the replacement tooth, teeth or bridge.
Recent case studies published in the Journal of Periodontology found that placing implants immediately and after tooth extraction shows a high percentage of clinical success, and that using a temporary fixed crown restoration may provide a better opportunity to meet patient needs. In the first study, ten patients received a total of 15 implants placed immediately after removal of 15 single-rooted teeth.
In the second case, a temporary fixed crown restoration was placed immediately after the bone reconstruction and the final crown was permanently placed 6 weeks after surgery.
"This is exciting news because in the past, dental implants weren't placed until two to nine months after the tooth was extracted," explained Antonio Barone, D.D.S. and lead researcher of one of the studies. "We observed no complications during the healing period, and found that implants placed immediately after tooth extractions have advantages such as prevention of jawbone deterioration, reduced number of surgical procedures and reduction of treatment time."
"Implant dentistry has improved dramatically in the last 20 years," said Gordon Douglass, D.D.S., president of the American Academy of Periodontology. "Although more research needs to be conducted, the concept of placing an implant and in some cases a crown immediately after tooth extraction provides a better opportunity to meet patient needs. An implant is the ultimate in tooth replacement enhancing the smile and preventing bone loss due to the loss of the tooth or teeth."
