ANTERIOR IMPLANT
Due to some lesion, infection or bone loss, you tend to lose one or more of your teeth. There are a variety of ways to replace these teeth:
· Removable appliance: the appliance is made of resin or steel that is kept in patient’s mouth by some hooks and can be taken out of the mouth for cleaning after meals.
· Dental Bridge: It is a block containing pillar teeth and connecting teeth which serve to replace the missing teeth. This block is installed permanently in patient’s mouth and is cleaned like the natural teeth. To make dental bridge, the dentist has to prepare some pillar teeth.
· Stick Bridge: The replacement tooth is installed permanently by wings stuck to the two neighboring teeth. The advantage of this way is that it is not necessary to prepare the two neighboring teeth, but the disadvantage is that the linking knot is likely to be crooked.
· Teeth Implant: It is the method of implanting titanium artificial roots in jaw-bone and covering by crown on the titanium artificial roots in order to replace the missing teeth.
If you decide to choose implant after considering all the alternatives, you should be aware of the fact that in order to have a tooth properly implanted, it is necessary to go through various stages. And, in order to have an optimal result (both in aesthetics and in function), it is necessary that all stages should be followed strictly.
This document aims to help you understand thoroughly the importance as well as the sequences of an implant case. Besides, you also have a comprehensive overview in order to keep track of the appointments during treatment process.
Teeth implant stages:
· Consultation: thanks to this phase, dentist will sort out all the contraindications to teeth implant.
o Panoramic X-ray
o Consultation
· CT scan: This phase helps to identify exactly the bone volume at the place where teeth implant will be carried out. In this phase, dentist will put into patient’s mouth a plastic image guide appliance on which there is a hole marking the implant position. After CT scanning, the image guide appliance is kept at the dentist’s for using in implant later.
· Dentist’s thorough evaluation after considering patient’s CT scan films.
o If there is enough bone, dentist and patient will come to an agreement on the date for implant.
o If there is not enough, dentist will arrange the time and necessary methods to carry out bone graft.
· Teeth Implant: teeth implant will be carried out in three month’s time after bone graft or can be carried out at the same time of bone graft (if any). In this phase, the physician will need surgical guide appliance which has been changed from the previous phase’s image guide appliance. (The physician will have to retain the form and make the guide appliance again in case teeth implant is carried 3 months after bone graft)
· Transitional movable appliance: During the period of treatment, apart from the time when being operated (bone graft, teeth implant); the patient has to wear a transitional movable appliance. After teeth implant completion, this transitional movable appliance must be amended in order not to press against the implant area.
· Open implanted teeth’s root: this stage is carried out three months after putting implant. The patient needs to go to the dentist’s in three times: the first time is to determine what need to be done (like gable gums, papillary gums…), choose temporary crown’s colour and form; in the second time, the implanted teeth’ root is opened; in the third time, the patient comes for being checked by the physician. Whether the gingival border of the crown will be good-looking or not depends much on this stage. Temporary crown will be screwed on the implanted teeth root and the patient does not have to use transitional movable appliance any more.
· Making definitive crown: in this stage, the patient is expected to come to the dentist’s in several times to make form, try (post, crown) and to check. Some appointment tends to be so short that the patient often mistakes it as unimportant; however, all the appointments are of great significance to make the crown as good-looking as expected.
· Follow-up: This is a necessary stage to assure teeth’s life span. The patient will go to the dentist’s to check the implanted teeth (biting joint, gums) and to take image of the teeth every three months in the first year; and every six months in the second year, and check annually in the other following years.
As far as you know, the result of teeth implant depends on the preciseness, seriousness, and consistence of all the concerned parties: physician, prosthetist, and YOU.
Only when having such conditions can we be optimistic to believe in the obtained achievement.
7
L’Hopital francais de Hanoi __ 1, rue Phuong Mai, Hanoi