Some points about dental implants

Increased age of toothless patients and also in some cases serious depletion of jaw bone has made it very difficult for deciding about dental implant treatment.

2021/09/06

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Some points about dental implants

Increased age of toothless patients and also in some cases serious depletion of jaw bone has made it very difficult for deciding about dental implant treatment. On the other hand, most of the patients are eager to have dental implants despite of severe jaw bone depletion and this is the most important challenge for dentists.

Some points about dental implants - age of toothless

Removable dental implant-based prostheses have reduced such problems but patients are not satisfied with removable dental prosthesis. Fixed prosthesis helps the function of masticatory system, increase the chewing forces and will improve the self-confidence of the patients. So, it has several advantages in compared with removable prosthesis.

However, inserting more implants as a support for one fixed prostheses is very difficult especially when the bone quantity is not enough. With increasing toothless period many changes occur that will increase the risk of implant support for fixed prosthesis treatment such as shallow alveolar nerve in lower jaw, low quantity of bone in posterior mandibular region and/or problems result from ridge depletion and extending sinus in upper jaw.

There are several solutions for ridge depletion problems for performing dental implants. Some of these methods include increasing ridge height such as crystal on-lay graft, short implants or using implants in different anatomic areas.

All of the above mentioned methods need highly skilled surgeons and have advantages and disadvantages.

Supportability of these implants for fixed treatments is not proved especially when the empty spaces on the jaw are considerable. Zygomatic and Ptrygoid implants are considered as the best treatment for patients with severe bone jaw depletion.

The results of several studies have shown that the success rate of these methods in patients with severe bone jaw depletion is very high. However, some of the above mentioned methods have some limitations and surgery risks. For this reason, success rate depends on surgeon skills. In addition, these methods have some side effects and also are considered as very expensive treatment methods.

Nowadays, graft surgery problems especially for patients with severe lower jaw bone depletion can lead to social problems that are related to non-use of denture after implant for a determined time period. On the other hand, there are some other side effects related to complicated surgeries - with or without graft - such as sensory-nervous disturbances, pain and scar in the donor area and so on. Due to the above mentioned problems; we need design and progress in treatments that do not need any bone graft for restoring oral health in toothless patients with severe jaw bone depletion.