There are several exciting new developments in dental implants. But there are pros and cons to this new technology, so let’s explain them for you.
New Dental Implants Technology: Teeth in an Hour
Normally, it is a long process to get dental implants. After being placed surgically, they require a healing period of several months before they can be “loaded” – have teeth placed on them.
Nobel Biocare, one of the leaders in dental implants research, has developed “Teeth-in-an-Hour” technology. With sophisticated computer design, in certain cases, a complete set of replacement teeth can be placed at the same appointment the fixtures are surgically placed. However, there are a couple of asterisks:
- Not every patient is a candidate for Teeth-in-an-Hour. You need a certain quantity and quality of bone in order for this technique to work for you.
- The cost is fairly high. The Teeth-in-an-Hour technique is patented, and it requires the use of Nobel Biocare’s software and dental laboratory in Sweden. Their laboratory fees are high to start with, and to that you have to add the cost of air shipments to and from Sweden. Many people, when they find out the cost, decide they can wait for their new dental implants.
New Dental Implants Technology: The All-on-Four Technique
The All-on-Four Dental Implants Technique was developed in the late 1990s by Dr. Paulo Maló, a Portuguese dentist. By angling the implants, he was able to achieve remarkable stability in a complete denture with only four dental implants placed entirely in the anterior portion of the jaw, where there is generally more bone density. By doing this, he has been able to avoid bone grafting in many patients that would otherwise require it.
New Dental Implants Technology: Mini Implants
A recent innovation is mini implants. These are considerably smaller than conventional implants and can be placed very easily and inexpensively. The trade-off is that they are not very sturdy, and if they come under too much stress they could be prone to early failure. Our advice, if you are wanting to save money by doing mini implants, is that you be very wary to make sure that you have a reputable dentist. He or she should tell you, without needing to be asked, that this is a compromise treatment and that they aren’t as good as conventionally sized implants. If they are honest with you about what you can expect, they will very likely save you money.
Click here to read more about the All-on-Four dental implants.
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This content was written by Dr. David Hall.