Dental implants can significantly improve the quality of life and the health of a person who needs them.
Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of dental implants.
Advantages of Dental Implants
- Dental implants look and feel like natural teeth and replace missing or newly extracted ugly teeth.
- Dental implants are designed to fuse with the bone.
- Slip-free. Dental implants are bone-supported dentures making them slip-free and fit perfectly. Thus, do not cause awkward speaking tones or discomfort when talking. A patient can laugh with no worry if the implant will fall.
- Sliding dentures can be uncomfortable during mastication. Dental implants function like your natural teeth, comfy and painless.
- Dental implants eliminate the discomfort of removable dentures.
- Dental Implants can replace the natural teeth and comfortably perform mastication just the same.
- Self-esteem. Dental implants are a replacement for your missing teeth. A new set of teeth can boost confidence especially when socially interacting.
- Oral health. Individual implants replace missing teeth, filling the gap created by tooth loss. Preventing food debris from getting stuck and dental problems from developing.
- Implants are very durable and will last many years. With good care, many implants last a lifetime.
- Removable dentures are just that; removable. Dental implants eliminate the embarrassing inconvenience of removing dentures, as well as the need for messy adhesives to keep them in place.
- Helps keep the jawbone from shrinking due to bone loss
- Preserves the health of the surrounding bone and gums. Dental implants don’t require reducing other teeth, as a tooth-supported bridge does. Because nearby teeth are not altered to support the implant, more of your teeth are left intact, improving long-term oral health.
- Helps keep the adjacent (nearby) teeth stable. When a gap is left by a missing tooth, the surrounding teeth tend to shift because that tooth is no longer helping to keep everything in line.
- Improves quality of life
Disadvantages of Dental Implants
- Damage to surrounding natural teeth during implant placement
- Injury to the surrounding tissues during surgery, such as sinus perforation
- Injury during surgery (for example, fracture of the surrounding jawbone)
- Inadequate function, such as feeling like the teeth do not bite together normally
- A sensation that the tooth is loose or twisting in place resulting from an abutment screw loosening
- Implant body failure (looseness of the implant body)
- due to systemic infection, which may be more likely in patients with uncontrolled diabetes
- due to local infection in bone and gums supporting the implant body
- due to delayed healing, which may be more likely in patients who smoke
- Difficulty cleaning the gums around the implant, resulting in poor oral hygiene
- Untreated periodontal disease
- Post-surgical numbness due to nerve impingement or damage
- Always notify health care providers and imaging technicians that you have dental implants before any magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or x-ray procedures. Dental implants can distort or interfere with these images. FDA is not aware of any adverse events reported for MRI or x-ray procedures with dental implants.
In some cases, the disadvantages of dental implants outweigh the advantages, especially if you have medical concerns that make surgery difficult. You may decide against getting dental implants for the following reasons:
- Dental implants may require supplemental procedures. Before the actual dental implant process, procedures like oral surgery and bone grafting may be recommended first depending on the clinical situation of the patient. If your teeth have been missing for a long time you may undergo bone grafting. These procedures are an additional expense of getting dental implants and lengthening the dental implant process.
- Dental implants are expensive. A dental implant procedure is more expensive than tissue-supporting dentures. The whole expense of dental implants is rarely covered by health insurance.
- Dental implants require surgery. Getting dental implants is a more invasive process than getting a bridge or denture since it requires oral surgery. We may conclude that the risks of dental implant surgery exceed the possible benefits if you have health issues that put you at a higher risk for complications or infection.
- Dental implants have a longer, 4 to 8 months, treatment time.
- Regular maintenance is required.
Conclusion
It is important to present the pros and cons to the patient. Sometimes disadvantages may outweigh the advantages if you have other health issues. To understand better, it is recommended to consult your dentist directly for more in-depth information.