Dealing with missing teeth isn’t just affecting your confidence in your smile. Over time, your jaw bone’s health can also be affected.
Dental implants are a tooth replacement option loved both by dentists and patients. It can effectively restore your smile’s appearance, as the implant is designed to match your natural look. But, thanks to the metal post that gets inserted into the jaw, dental implants will also support jaw bone health.
But, not all patients are good candidates for implants, at least not the traditional ones. However, they may still be able to get mini implants. Though they may appear similar, there are some key differences to consider:
The biggest difference between traditional and mini dental implants is the size of the metal post, which is the implant’s root. This component is inserted into the jaw and supports the entire artificial tooth.
Traditional implants have longer posts, which means they require more jaw bone mass. Patients who’ve dealt with missing teeth for a long time are generally not good candidates for implants because they likely have less bone in this area.
With mini implants, you may still get the procedure even if you’ve had bone mass loss.
On average, traditional dental implants last longer than mini implants. The latter lacks the abutment piece, which is used to connect the metal post to the dental crown in the case of traditional implants.
This provides the artificial tooth with a lot more stability, which mini implants lack. Also, because they are shorter, they receive less support from the jaw bone, which also affects their durability.
Mini dental implants can typically be placed in one dental appointment. The procedure is a lot less invasive than it is with traditional dental implants.
Moreover, if you have less bone density, you can still get traditional dental implants in Mandeville if you first have a preliminary procedure, such as a gum lift or a bone graft. Both are designed to increase bone mass and allow full-length metal post insertions.
However, these preliminary procedures come with their own recovery time, which could be 6 additional months or longer. By comparison, getting a mini dental implant is a lot faster.
Typically, a mini dental implant is more affordable than a traditional one, but it does depend on the type of restoration you need. For instance, more extensive damage would require several mini implants to effectively cover a larger area of the jaw.
With traditional implants, you can get implant-supported dentures, which will require only 4 implants to replace the full or partial arch.
To find out if you’re a good candidate for dental implants, we recommend seeing Dr. Charles Schof for a consultation.
Request a visit to the Mandeville Center for Dental Excellence online, or call us at (985) 626-4401.
