Dental implants
Dental implants are used when the natural tooth is lost. Just like every other part of the body, the complexity of the teeth is a real wonder of nature. For this reason, the goal of dentistry is, in general, always to retain the natural teeth.
An accident or caries can, however, mean that (involuntary) loss of teeth occurs.
The gap in the row of teeth should then be closed as soon as possible with an appropriate dental implant in order to avoid shifts in the positions of the surrounding teeth.
What are implants made of?
Dental implants have two components:
- The artificial dental root, which is implanted into the bone, which consists of biocompatible materials such as titanium or ceramic
- The artificial tooth, which is placed on the new dental root, consists of zircon or a base metal (NEM)
The implant / implants step by step
Planning
First, the affected jaw area is measured and analyzed using X-ray images. Here, both classic 2D X-ray images and modern 3D X-ray techniques (digital volume tomography) are used.
In the next step, the position of the implant is planned and calculated on the computer. In order to place the titanium implants into the jaw, sufficient space and bone mass is required. If the bone substance present is not sufficient, bone regeneration must be considered in advance.
Info: If bone regeneration is required, the bone will be regenerated either using synthetic material or from the body’s own bone substance from other areas.
Implant placement
After preparation work has been successfully completed, the dental implant is then placed. Naturally, local anesthetic means that the placement is pain-free. When the implant has been placed, it must then fuse with the jawbone.
Titanium is biocompatible, meaning that no complications are expected during the healing process. The healing process is also problem-free for ceramic implants.
Healing phase and placement of the implant crown
Depending on the quality of the bone, healing takes at least 2-3 months. When the implant has fused with the bone, the implant crown – in other words, the new tooth – can be placed on the implant.
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You can find more information on dentures / prosthetics here.
Dental implant costs
As implant placement is always an extremely individualized process, we can unfortunately not provide a fixed price here. Of course, after a preliminary discussion, you will receive a transparent cost estimate, from which you can gather information on the individual expenses.
Whether and to what extent your health insurance will cover part of the costs depends on the contractually agreed services of your health insurance company. After you have received the cost estimate from us, you can present it to your health insurance company to be checked.
Do you have further questions or are you interested in a consultation without obligation? Then feel free to contact us. You can find the contact details in the yellow info box. We are looking forward to hearing from you!
BERLIN SMILE DENTAL CENTRE
Your dentists in Berlin, right in Europacity
- Open Mo – Fr between 8am and 8pm
- (030) 95 99 99 410
- Heidestrasse 14, 10557 Berlin
- Parking spaces at the REWE opposite
- Our practice is fully accessible
Implants: Your questions, our answers
Our dentist and specialist Felix Dan provides information regarding connections with dental implants and explains the overall process:
For example, if trauma or caries cause the loss of teeth, patients are faced with the important question of the extent to which it is possible to realize dental prostheses which are satisfactory and stable in the long-term.
What types of implants are there?
Depending on the number, position and stability of the remaining teeth, gaps in the rows of teeth can be dealt with in various ways.
We differentiate between fixed, removable, combined fixed and removable and implant-based dental prostheses.
What options are there for fixed dental prosthesis?
If patients want fixed dental prostheses, there are usually two options: a bridge or an implant.
With the use of a bridge, dental enamel must be removed from the abutment teeth; an implant does not require this forfeit.
This means that an implant represents a gentle alternative to a classic bridge solution for the remaining teeth.
What advantages are there to dental prostheses based on implants?
The latter offers the option of a long-lasting, highly aesthetic dental prosthesis, which is low in complications with the correct indication and which can closely recreate the natural teeth and can directly transmit chewing forces to the jawbone.
Another important advantage of dental prostheses based on implants is protection of the dental enamel of the neighbouring teeth.
How are dental implants constructed?
The construction of dental implants usually consists of three components: the implant body embedded in the bone, an implant structure (abutment) and the implant crown.
What should be done in the event of longer phases without teeth?
Usually, the desire for dental prostheses is associated with a short or long period without teeth.
This leads to so-called bone resorption at the relevant place in the jawbone – meaning that the bone loses volume.
Before a planned implant, i.e. the surgical placement of the implant body, the surgeon will therefore check your individual bone supply as well as its quality.
If your bone supply is insufficient, the first step will be to carry out bone regeneration (technical term: augmentation).
After a healing phase, which usually lasts three months, the implant itself can be placed.
If the bone defect is of small volume or the resorption of the jawbone is not very far advanced, however, the implant can also be carried out at the same time as the bone augmentation.
Here, an important evaluation benchmark is the so-called primary stability of the implant – i.e. the resilience of the implant body after implantation to external mechanical strain.
How long is the lifespan of dental prostheses based on implants?
When considering the longevity of dental prostheses based on implants, the five-year and ten-year survival rates of bridges based on implants can be used as an important evaluation benchmark.
At 95.2% (5 years) and 86.7% (10 years), this is close to that of conventional (tooth-based) bridges.
For conventional bridges, the five-year survival rate was 93.8% and the ten-year survival rate was 89.2% (cf. Pjetursson et al., 2007, p. 97).
The so-called biocompatibility of the implant materials is of particular importance for a high survival rate.
If a material is biocompatible, the risk of this material triggering a rejection can be considered to be low.
The implant materials used today, such as titanium or ceramic, can be considered to be highly biocompatible and make complete fusing of the implant with the bone possible (osseointegration).
Source:
Pjetursson, B. E. et al.
(2007) ‘Comparison of survival and complication rates of tooth-supported fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) and implant-supported FDPs and single crowns (SCs)’, Clinical Oral Implants Research, 18, pp. 97–113.
For further information, we are happy to advise you over the phone or on location in our practice.
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