A dental implant is a fixture that is usually made of medical-grade titanium, there are also other materials that can be used such as cornea ceramic and even ones that are a hybrid of titanium and zirconium together. However, titanium is by far the most commonly used and recommended because there is a very good scientific evidence and it is highly biocompatible and the body accepts it very well. It is also a highly durable material that can withstand many years of biting forces. A dental implant must be made of titanium, a fortunate discovery made in the 1950s proved that not only does the body tolerate the presence of titanium bone actually seems to like it. Scientists have shown that new bone cells will actually grow up to and attach to the surface of the implant. A successfully placed implant should have that solid as a rock feel.
Now let’s look at the different components of a dental implant
A fully-restored dental implant consists of three major components, the dental implant placed in the jawbone that acts as the root of the tooth, the abutment which gets fixated with the screw on top of the dental implant and finally the crown that sits on top of the abutment. The abutment just like the implant itself is most commonly fabricated from medical grade titanium or in some cases a combination of titanium and zirconium. The crown, however, is made of many different materials such as zirconia, porcelain, boosters, etc.
Once the dental implant is placed in the jawbone it is then allowed three to five months to heal and Osseointegration is a technical term for when the jawbone fuses with the surface of the dental implant and permanently fixates the dental implant in the jaw bone. Once the dental implant is healed and fused to the jawbone we then come back and expose the dental implant, we then take an impression of the exact location of the dental implant and send that the impression to our in-house dental laboratory in scottsdale so that they can fabricate the abutment and the crown that is custom-made to that individual patient. Once we receive the abutment and crown back from our lab we are ready to fully fixate the crown and abutment together onto the dental implant, at this stage the treatment is complete and the patient can now confidently smile.
If you have any questions or require dental implants treatment please don’t hesitate to ask your questions here or give us a call to schedule an appointment. We would love to hear from you.